My grandfather, Leslie Bradford, passed away around 3:00 p.m. PT (6:00 p.m. ET) this Tuesday afternoon in Portland, Oregon.
He has been ill for some time, having fought through cancer and a number of other ailments over the last several years. He has been in hospice care at his home for about three months now, and has had regular visits and care from his children. We knew this was coming sooner or later, but it’s never easy.
Grandpa has always been there for us grandkids. He has traveled all across the country to be present for our weddings and graduations, and he never forgot to send cards and gifts at Christmas and on our birthdays.
For many years he produced custom annual calendars for the family, which included everybody’s birthdays and anniversaries—his kids and grandkids and other members of the extended family. He also produced a web site for the extended family, which he updated regularly with photos, stories, updates, and more from the disparate branches of the family tree.
He also loved taking pictures and videos. As we dig out our own photos of Grandpa to post on Facebook and elsewhere, we’re finding that he is holding a camera of some kind in almost every shot. He probably has an incredible archive of film and video from every imaginable family event over the years.
Goodbye, Grandpa. I love you, and I’ll miss you.
God of faithfulness,
In your wisdom you have called your servant Leslie out of this world;
Release him from the bonds of sin,
And welcome him into your presence,
So that he may enjoy eternal light and peace
And be raised up in glory with all your saints.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.Amen