Mr. William Bradbury

William Bradbury, 94, passed away peacefully in his sleep on November 1, 2015. He was in the Veteran’s wing of Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto. He is survived by his children Laura Bradbury (Don Chiasson), Tim Bradbury (Nancy Keenan), David Bradbury, Cathrin Bradbury (John Barber) and Ann Bradbury (Damion Dooley) as well as his grandchildren Brennan Lang, Kristen Bradbury, Conor, Sam and Noah Bradbury, Kelly and Mary Barber, and Keogh and Claire Dooley. His beloved wife of 71 years, Cassie, predeceased him by 7 months - a month for each decade of their time together.

Bill was already in the air force when he and Cassie married and they moved to Manitoba where he trained other pilots to fly in WWII. Near the end of the war he was transferred to England and flew Mosquitoes, a plane he had an abiding affection for. After the war he went to work for Vallance Brown in St. Catharines and rose through the ranks until he retired 40 years later as a district manager. He was a diligent worker, but was equally committed to community service - he was at various times a school board trustee, a Knights of Columbus president, a library board member and a president of the board of directors at the condominium where they lived for 22 years.

Bill was an eager and very good card player and an eager and pretty bad golfer. In their retirement years he and Cassie travelled the globe, often returning to England where both their families had come from. He loved to read and always had a book on the go. For 55 years he was a member of barbershop singing groups, something that gave him great pleasure throughout his life - he sang a ditty for Cassie the day before he died.

He had a remarkable ability to always see the positive in things. Even as his memory failed him in his later years, he would never fail to note the pleasure in a family gathering or the beauty in a day. His decency, grace and good humour never left him and are a life lesson for us all, especially as we get older. They will be sorely missed. He will be sorely missed.

We would like to thank the wonderful staff at Veteran’s, many of whom cried at dad’s passing, for their exceptional care.

Visitation will be on Wednesday, November 4, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Basil’s church, 50 St. Joseph St., Toronto and Mass will follow immediately after at 10:30 a.m. There is a memorial page for William Bradbury at the Rosar-Morrison Funeral Home & Chapel web site www.rosar-morrison.com