In Memory

Bernard Brady

Bernard Brady

In loving memory
of our dear classmate

 

 

 

 

Bernard Allen "B.J." Brady

Bernard Allen "B.J." Brady, 76, returned peacefully to his Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ after a long illness on Saturday, April 20, 2024, in Bronte.

Bernard was born on August 2, 1947 to Bernard Cornelius Brady and Jessie Hazel Miller Brady in Port Arthur, Texas. He was a graduate of Waltrip High School in Houston. Bernard earned a BBA Marketing from Lamar University in Beaumont. Bernard and his wife Susan have served together as a team since they met in 1974. Married in 1977, they co-owned three different corporations - Collectors Corner, Majestic Publishing Company, and Brady and Associates. All three corporations were very successful.

Bernard turned his childhood passion for U.S. coins and precious metals into a lifelong occupation, educating collectors and counseling investors. He owned Collectors Corner, a coin shop in Boulder, Colorado, from 1975 to 1980. He also served as President of the Boulder County Coin Club and held offices in the San Angelo Coin Club. For several years he had tables at regional coin shows in the southeastern states. He was Life Member 1517 of the American Numismatic Association from 1975 until his death. After moving from Colorado to north Alabama in 1986, he worked for 20 years as an independent insurance agent with Humana and Blue Cross of Alabama. He specialized in senior products, particularly Medicare supplements. Among his senior customers he discovered that many were not able to stretch their monthly income far enough. So with donations from members of his church, he carried groceries in his car and gave them to whoever he found in need.

Bernard had a long history of public service. Growing up in Houston, he served as an acolyte in his church; was Master Counselor in DeMolay, and was honored in 1967 as a Chevalier. He also served as Worshipful Master of Columbia Lodge No. 14 AF &AM in Boulder, Colorado, in 1979.

He was chapter President of the Boulder Jaycees in 1978; Editor and Publisher of the award-winning Colorado Jaycees Magazine; Executive Vice President of the Colorado Jaycees; and was honored as a JCI Senator. In 1983 at age 36, the Colorado Jaycees honored him as one of three Outstanding Young Coloradoans.

He and his wife served for fifteen years as volunteer mental health consumer advocates through the Consumer Relations office with the State of Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation from 1995-2010. For a time he was also on the Friends board of North Alabama Regional Hospital and the state CQI board.

Bernard was a brilliantly intelligent, generous, and kind person, and he will be sorely missed by many.

Bernard is survived by his wife of 47 years, Susan Dobbins Brady; his daughter, Kristen Kay Brady of Katy; along with son-in-law Omar Castillo; and granddaughters, Angel and Sofia; his brother, Jeffrey S. Brady of Terlingua; and several cousins, nieces, and nephews. he was preceded in death by his parents and his favorite grandmother, Basha Brady; his step-mother, Elvina Ake Brady of Paint Rock; and his step-father, John W. Pitts of Conroe.

The family would like to thank Hospice of San Angelo for their love and care for Bernard.

There will be no services. His cremains will be interred in his grave plot in the Brady family section at the cemetery in Paint Rock under the direction of Robert Massie Funeral Home.



 
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04/26/24 11:23 AM #1    

Patricia Bissonnet (Bissonnet)

I remember Bernard (BJ?  I don't remember that he was called that!) at our 15th reunion.  Most of us were still trying to figure out our place in the world, how to make enough money to be comfortable and retire at a reasonable age. Bernard had grown about 10 inches, but was his old affable self.  When asked what he was doing now (translate--how are you making a living) he would laugh and say he played golf three times a week.  The rise in the price of gold had turned our geeky philatelist friend into a man unworried about his future.  It sounds like he went on to live a life of service and success--a life well lived. Farewell sweet Bernard!


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