Earl R. Bradley

Col. Earl R. Bradley
Funeral services for Col. Earl R. Bradley, 89, longtime Wilkes County resident, were held Wednesday, August 1, 2007, at Hopkins Funeral Home, Washington. He died July 24 following a lengthy illness.

Col. Bradley was born in Morehead, Ky., May 3, 1918. He was the widower of Margaret Clark Bradley and Newell Moon Bradley. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1965 with a distinguished service record in the South Pacific during World War II; the Korean Conflict,and at the Pentagon in the Ballistics Missiles and Space divisions. He served as a night fighter pilot, piloting the P61 Black Widow night fighter with former Georgia poet laureate James Dickey as his radar observer. Among his service honors was the Air Force Medal of Commendation awarded him for writing the format for the Air Force Dynamo System.

Valedictorian of the Morehead High School Class of 1939, Col. Bradley attended Morehead State University until he was called to serve in World War II. Following his retirement in 1965, he earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia and pursued a master's degree there in Ornamental Horticulture.

A lifelong student of both the natural and social sciences, Col. Bradley started a nursery in Wilkes County, from which he retired, and held patents on several of his inventions. He also developed and taught Junior ROTC in Jesup and Forest Park. He was a prolific poet and essayist and wrote a weekly column for The News-Reporter at one time. He especially took joy in learning to play the tenor guitar after age 65.

Survivors include his sister, Vernita Becker of Washington; a brother, William E. Bradley of Morehead, Ky.; a grandson, Clayton Bradley of Portland, Oregon; and a granddaughter, Jessica Bradley of Los Angeles, Calif.

Hopkins Funeral Home of Washington was in charge of arrangements.
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