Brad Booker

Gaylon Bradley Booker, age 41, died in Memphis, Tennessee on August 17, 2017. He was born October 21, 1975 in Memphis, Tennessee to Gaylon and Elsie Booker. Brad was a member of the Church of Christ. He attended Harding Academy and Germantown High School. He studied at Northwest Mississippi Community College and the University of Memphis.

Although Brad never studied art, he had a special talent for it, and he enjoyed drawing as a pastime. He was an avid reader throughout his life. In the first grade, he announced to his parents that he intended to win a reading contest which had been arranged by his Harding Academy teacher. Brad’s dad encouraged him to set a specific goal for the number of books he would read during the year. After some thought, Brad announced that his goal was to read 1,000 books during the school year, which then prompted his dad to counsel him that goals needed to be reasonable and achievable. But Brad insisted that his goal was 1,000 books, and, much to the amazement of his father, the goal was exceeded with the help of his teacher and his mother searching beyond the shelves of the Harding Academy library for additional age-appropriate books for him. His passion for reading never subsided. He read the Bible often and was a good student of the Scriptures.

Brad also had a knack for voice impressionism. His favorite movie resources for practicing this craft were “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” and “Slingblade.” He enjoyed delivering the more memorable lines from these movies in the voices of the leading characters. He especially enjoyed weaving the voice of Slingblade’s Karl Childers into conversations with family, friends and co-workers.

The family will receive friends on Tuesday August 22, 2017 from 12 noon until 2 P.M. at Memphis Funeral Home, 5599 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38119. A memorial service will be held at 2 P.M. in the chapel of Memphis Funeral Home.

Brad leaves his parents, Gaylon and Elsie Booker, a brother, Ronnie Booker, a sister, Jan Stark, and two nephews, Zach and Ben Stark, all living in the Memphis-Germanton area.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorials be sent to Shelby Residential and Vocational Services (SRVS), 3971 Knight Arnold Rd., Memphis, TN 38118 or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Pl., Memphis, TN 38105.