| BRADLEY,
Elihu Francis Eli
Bradley, 90, loving husband, father,
grandfather, great grandfather, brother, and
uncle, passed away Tuesday (January 2, 2007)
at Yale New Haven Hospital. Eli was
predeceased by his beloved wife of 56 years,
Eileen Reynolds Bradley, with whom he made his
home in West Hartford. After Eileen's death,
and at the age of 82, Eli found love again
when he married Ethel "Toots"
Bradley and made a new home with her in
Branford. Eli graduated from Yale
University, Class of 1939, with a
bachelor's degree of Engineering in
Metallurgy. While at Yale, he also pursued
what became a life long passion of his,
English and Poetry. Eli retired as Chief of
Materials Engineering and Research at Pratt
and Whitney Aircraft in 1977. During his
distinguished career, Eli's work with titanium
and other superalloys used in the development
of high performance jet engines led to ten
patents in the refractory metals field. Eli
was elected President
of the American Society for Metals in 1978
and was the recipient of ASM's
2002 Gold Medal for a lifetime of
technical achievement. Eli read and wrote
poetry, and used his fantastic memory to
recite poetry at will. He was an avid fan of
the Yale Bulldog football and hockey teams,
and of the New York Mets. He loved his summer
bungalow on Cape Cod in West Falmouth, MA. and
loved watching his children, and later his
grandchildren, play sports including football,
soccer, and hockey. Eli leaves his second
wife, Ethel "Toots" Bradley of
Branford; his daughter, Susan Collins and
husband, Thomas of Pittsfield, MA; his son
Kevin Bradley and wife, Nancy of Paxton, MA.,
his son Rohan Bradley and wife, Debbie of West
Hartford, his son Quentin Bradley and wife,
Cindy of Burlington. He leaves ten beloved
grandchildren: Jennifer Collins Freshman and
husband, David, Brendan Collins and wife, Jan,
Cameron Collins, Curran Bradley, Aidan
Bradley, Conor Bradley, Trevor Bradley, Colin
Bradley, Ian Bradley and Kelly Eileen Bradley.
He leaves a great granddaughter, Hannah
Freshman. Eli also leaves his loving sister,
Lucille Oestreicher of Hamden; and many
special nieces and nephews. He was predeceased
by his brothers, Edmund and George, and by his
first son, Elihu "Chippy" Bradley,
who died in 1948, and Toots's daughter, Sandra
Diehl in 1995. Eli also leaves Toots's devoted
family: Judith Marks and husband, Nate, Joanne
Vinci and husband, John, James McPherson and
wife, Susan, and all of Toots's grandchildren
and great grandchildren. Eli's kind and
empathetic, unassuming, gentlemanly manner
will be missed by all who had the pleasure of
knowing this very special man. Friends may
call on Eli's family on Sunday, January 7,
from 4-7 p.m. at the Molloy Funeral Home, 906
Farmington Ave. West Hartford. Funeral
services will be Monday, January 8, at 9:15
a.m. from the funeral home with a Mass of
Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in St. Mark the
Evangelist Church, 467 South Quaker Lane, West
Hartford. Burial will follow in Fairview
Cemetery. Memorial donations in Eli's memory
may be made to Eli and Eileen Bradley Memorial
Library, Genesis Club Inc., 274 Lincoln St.,
Worcester, MA 01605. Online messages of
sympathy may be made at www.molloyfuneralhome.com |
| Published in the Hartford
Courant on 1/5/07 |
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