Willis R Braden Jr.

Willis Rodney Braden, Jr. (Bill), 89, passed away peacefully Thursday, March 9, 2023. Bill was born June 6, 1933, in the old Highland Park neighborhood of Louisville, KY to the late Willis Rodney Braden, Sr. and Armella Rose May.

Bill was a retired meter reader for the Louisville Gas & Electric Company.

He was preceded in death by his wife, the former Susan Irene Dishion, and his brother, Walter Ray Braden, Sr.

He is survived by one brother, James L. Braden, Sr.; nephews, James L. Braden, Jr. (Jenine), Jeffrey L. Braden (Michelle), and Walter R. Braden, Jr. (Peggy), and his beloved niece, Kathy Braden, and his shih-tzu Sissy.

Bill was a very friendly, outgoing, and positive person who always had a smile on his face and funny stories to tell. Bill was an avid and accomplished athlete participating in softball, baseball, bowling, and golf for most of his life earning numerous awards and trophies. Bill was inducted into the ASA Metro Louisville Softball Hall of Fame in 1985 and into the Kentucky Softball Hall of Fame in 2012. When bowling for the LG&E Saturday Nite League in 1973, Bill scored an impressive 298.

Bill proudly served in the Army National Guard of Kentucky.

His funeral will be on Saturday, March 18th, at 11am at the Heady-Hardy Funeral Home, with interment following in Cave Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be on Friday from 3pm until 7pm and Saturday from 9:30 until the time of service.

In lieu of flowers, the family request contributions in Bill’s memory be made to Hosparus or Alzheimer’s Association.