George E. Bradley Jr

George E. Bradley, Jr., 92, of Kingsport, died peacefully at home Friday of congestive heart failure.
Born Sept. 21, 1924, to George Bradley Sr., and Anna Laura (Hicks) Bradley, he was the eldest of three sons and a lifelong resident of Kingsport. He grew up on the family farm on Fort Henry Drive and graduated from Holston High School in 1943. With World War II raging, he joined the Navy and served for nearly three years, including in Okinawa, Guam and Saipan, with the 4th Naval Construction Battalion, the Seabees.
After returning home, he married his high school sweetheart and fellow cheerleader, Irene Jones, on April 4, 1947. The couple celebrated their 70th anniversary this spring. They raised four children: Jeff, Brooke, Carol and Jo, in whom he took great pride.
George spent 22 years as an electrician at Bays Mountain Construction Co. In 1961, he and his two brothers founded Bradley Bros. Construction Co., which remained in business for half a century. George and his brother Fred also co-owned the Kingsport Livestock Auction, operated a cattle-shipping business and opened the Tri-Cities' first mini-storage. George loved his work and developed a close bond with many of his employees.
He was a long-time member of Colonial Heights United Methodist Church, where he taught Sunday School for a number of years. He was an active member of the Kingsport Rotary Club.
George firmly believed that people are good at heart and deserve the chance to better themselves. He liked to measure the strength of a person's handshake and was fond of saying that "A stranger is a friend you haven't met."
Gregarious and full of life, he was known for his unceasing friendliness and his energetic efforts to help those in need. Among other things, he helped build several Habitat for Humanity houses, installed Rotary newspaper collection barns for recycling and helped construct an Indigent Care Clinic for outpatients of Holston Valley Community Hospital. During the 1970s he traveled to Haiti eight times as part of a Rotary project to build a medical, dental and optometry clinic. While there he befriended a number of Haitians and paid tuition for several of them to attend vocational school.
To honor his philanthropic service, Rotary designated him a Paul Harris Fellow, its highest level of recognition. In 1997 the Sertoma Club of Kingsport awarded him its Service to Mankind Award, the biggest honor given to non-members.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Anna Laura Bradley; his father, George Bradley, Sr.; and his brother, Don Bradley.
He is survived by his wife, Irene; son, Jeff Bradley (Marta Turnbull) of Boulder, Colo.; daughters Brooke Bradley of Shelter Island, New York; Carol Bradley (Steve L'Heureux) of Great Falls, Montana; and Jo Caruso (Sonny Gregory) of Knoxville, Tennessee; three grandsons, Truman Bradley (Amanda Gonzalez) of Wheat Ridge, Colorado; Walker Bradley of Alexandria, Virginia; and John Post of Eugene, Oregon; his brother, Fred Bradley; and several cousins, nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends from 3 until 5pm Sunday at Hamlett-Dobson Funeral Home, Kingsport. The service will follow at 5pm with Phillip Frazier officiating.
A graveside service will be conducted at 9am Monday at East Lawn Memorial Park. Military graveside rites will be presented by the American Legion Post 3/265. Those planning to attend are asked to meet at the cemetery by 8:45am.
Contributions in his memory may be made to the Rotary Club of Kingsport Foundation, P.O. Box 933, Kingsport, TN, 37662-0933, which funds a variety of civic projects.

Cemetery Details