Elwood Brady passed away peacefully at his home on Wednesday, October 22, after suffering a massive stroke over two months earlier. He was 90 years old. His funeral will be held on October 27 at the LDS chapel on NE 106th and Thompson Street in Portland, Oregon, and he will be buried in a private ceremony on October 28 at Willamette National Cemetery.
Elwood was born in Wales, Utah on 11 January 1924; he was the son of Marion Jehu Brady Jr. and Rintha Maria Christensen. Elwood was the second of seven children. His siblings were Marion Berness, Keith, Carroll Dee, Beverly, Thera Lue, and Verlene. At the start of the Great Depression, Elwood’s father was working in Salt Lake City as a mechanic, but he lost his job and the family moved back to Sanpete County. Elwood spent most of his early years in various Sanpete county towns including Fairview, Mt. Pleasant, and Wales. He attended Snow College in Fairview as a teenager.
On December 6, 1941 Elwood, along with his brother Berness, enlisted in the Marines, and were on the train to San Diego when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Elwood served in Philadelphia for the duration of the War. On November 14, 1947 Elwood married Melba Smith, of Springville, Utah, in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. Shortly afterwards they moved to Pennsylvania, where he attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. After graduation they moved to Provo, Utah where he attended Brigham Young University, graduating with a BA in 1951. Their first child, Stephen, was born in Provo.
After graduation the little family moved to Milford, Utah, where Elwood had his first teaching job in the Milford School District. Their second child, Deborah, was born there. In June of 1952, Elwood and his wife and children moved to Portland, Oregon, where a job with the Portland Public schools awaited. Elwood’s brother Keith was attending dental school in Portland, so they stayed in Keith’s apartment while Keith’s
family was away for the summer. In August of that year, the Elwood and Melba Brady family moved to the “old house”
on SE Clatsop Street. Elwood began to teach at Lent Elementary School, in southeastPortland, and the family was joined by a dog they named Jack-in-the-Box. A daughter, Diane, later joined the family there.
In the summer of 1954, the family moved to a new home on NE Sacramento Street. During the next few years four sons, Mark, John, Robert, and Richard, joined the family. Elwood continued to teach at Lent Elementary, and later taught at Whitman
and Bridger Elementary Schools. He retired after 30 years of teaching. Elwood received an MA degree from Portland State University. He loved art and
painted over 100 paintings, which are treasured by his family. He also was an avid gardener and camper, and loved to read. As a young man he tried out for a minorleague baseball team with his brothers, and created a comic strip with his brothers Berness and Keith.
Elwood was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for all his life. He served a number of years as a volunteer missionary for the church and later worked for many years as a volunteer at the church’s Portland Temple.
Elwood was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Marion Berness and Carroll Dee, his son, Robert Elwood, and great-grandson, David Matthew.
He is survived by his wife Melba, four sons: Stephen (Judith), Mark (Danette), John (Shelly), and Richard, and two daughters: Deborah Wood (Gary) and Diane Turner (Gary), one brother, Keith (Shirley), three sisters: Beverly Clements, Thera Lue Bird, and
Verlene Henderson (Ivan), 27 grandchildren: Jeff, Spencer, Holly, David and Jenna Brady, Carrie Schuler, Sarah VonNiederhausern, Beth, Gary Jr., Michael and Josh Wood, John, Chris and Brian Turner, Lisa Davis, Daniel, Andrew, Scott and Jessica Brady, Brenda Bokovoy, Kevin, Erica and Emily Brady, Michelle Vernon, Katrina Platt, Teressa Antivilo, and Laura Hunter, and 34 great-grandchildren.
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