William Rawsel Bradford

Elder William R. Bradford, emeritus General Authority Seventy, passed away peacefully on January 24, 2019 in Bountiful Utah at the age of 85. He was born October 25, 1933 in Springville, Utah, the son of Rawsel and Mary (Waddoups) Bradford. He had one sister, Mary Lou, and two brothers, Richard, and Thomas who died in infancy. He lived his young life in Springville and Spanish Fork, Utah. His parents taught him to be industrious, which he was all his life. He was excellent at farming and working with animals and at one point ran a dairy. As a young man he considered becoming a veterinarian.

At the age of 12 Elder Bradford moved to Hawaii with his family as his parents were called to serve a mission there. His grandfather Rawsel Sprague Bradford had been a missionary in Hawaii in 1906, serving six years and doing considerable work on the temple there. His grandfather William M. Waddoups served as the first president of the Laie Hawaii Temple from 1919 to 1930. He also served as a mission president in Hawaii, Samoa and New Zealand. From that missionary atmosphere Elder Bradford learned that "…missionary work can only be done one way. That is when a person will live his life in such a way that the Spirit can work through him and testify to others."

Elder Bradford attended Brigham Young University before serving a mission in Japan from 1953 to 1955. He married Mary Ann Bird when he returned. Soon after they were married Elder Bradford was called into military service and assigned to duty as a servicemen's group leader in Fort Devens, Massachusetts, for three years.

They moved to McAllen, Texas, in 1960 and with his brother established a citrus and truck garden farm. This business evolved into an import business that operated in Texas, Mexico and Central America. Working along the border gave Elder Bradford the opportunity to learn Spanish and work with the Mexican-American people. In South Texas, he served as a member of a district presidency, as a district mission president, and as president of the McAllen Branch.

Living along the coast also gave him the opportunity to do one of his favorite things – deep-sea fishing. Often he and the men with whom he served fished from his boat in the Gulf of Mexico. These trips on the water brought in pounds of fish and were the source of discerning discussion and lasting friendships. Throughout his ministry Elder Bradford enjoyed fishing in favorite places in the world where he was serving.         

In early 1975, Elder Bradford was called to preside over the Chile, Santiago Mission. At the October 1975 LDS General Conference he was called as one of three men to serve as new members of the reconstituted First Quorum of the Seventy. He spent the next 28 years as a General Authority for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving mostly in Latin America and Asia. Elder Bradford has also served as an assistant executive director of the Church's Curriculum Department, managing director, executive administrator and area supervisor. Following his release as a General Authority Seventy in 2003, Elder and Sister Bradford were called to serve as president and matron of the Houston Texas temple from 2006-2009.

Elder Bradford spoke nine times in general conference. In April 1976, he spoke on following Christ's pattern.
"To all of you within the sound of my voice who are not following the pattern of the Master, change," he said. "Open your hearts to His love. Open your doors to His servants. Let them come into your homes and teach you what you must do to be like Him."
In his last general conference address in October 1999, Elder Bradford counseled members to do all they can to become righteous. "Striving to live righteously is attempting to do all that we can in obedience," he said. "With this comes the inner peace and comfort that in doing all we can, the plan of God will be accomplished in our behalf. No other feeling in the soul of man can bring the joy and happiness than that of knowing you are doing all you can to become righteous."

Elder Bradford is survived by his wife of 63 years, Mary Ann, and their six children: Natalie (Kent) Holbrook, Marcia (Brent) Nielson, Mark (Valerie) Bradford, Laura (Sharman) Smoot, Sarah (Glen) Hale and Chris Bradford; 28 grandchildren; 49 great-grandchildren; and sister, Mary Lou (William) Bingham and sister-in-law, Laura Bradford. His parents and brothers, Thomas and Richard, preceded him in death.
 
Funeral services will be held Monday, February 4, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. at the Eagleridge Ward meetinghouse, 351 Lofty Lane, North Salt Lake, Utah. Visitation will be held Sunday February 3, 2019 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Russon Mortuary, 295 North Main, Bountiful, Utah, and Monday, February 4, 2019 from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the meetinghouse prior to the service. Interment will be at the Bountiful City Cemetery (2224 South 200 West, Bountiful, Utah) following the funeral service.