- Date Of Birth: August 10, 1923
- Date Of Death: July 15, 2015
- State: Illinois
Robert E. Bradney (“Brad”), born August 10, 1923, passed away after a brief illness on July 15, 2015. A lifelong resident of Jacksonville, Brad lived a life that transcended his humble roots.
He was president of his senior class at both Jacksonville High School and Illinois College. During World War II, he served with the 76th Infantry Division, 1943-1946, in France, Belgium, Luxemburg, and Germany, and was awarded a Purple Heart. Back in the states, he earned a JD at Harvard Law School in 1950, then returned to Jacksonville where he spent the next half century as a trial lawyer in the firm now known as Rammelkamp Bradney Attorneys at Law.
A member of the Illinois State Bar Association, he served on many committees over the years, and earned multiple awards and honors, including the Illinois State Bar Association’s Board of Governors Award, induction into the first class of Laureates by the ISBA, and Pillar of the Bar in the Seventh Judicial Circuit for his distinguished professional and community activities. He was a sought-after lecturer to lawyer groups for his expertise in legal ethics and trial tactics.
He served his community in a number of leadership roles at Trinity Episcopal Church, the YMCA, Morgan County Red Cross, Illinois College, and Passavant Hospital.
The son of Homer G. and Nancy C. Bradney, Brad met and married his wife of 64 years, Harriet Means, of Columbus, OH, who survives him. He is also survived by his four married daughters, Nancy Peltzman (Sam) of Chicago, Lyn Pickel (Tony) of St. Louis, Ann Bradney (Ezra Herman) of Los Angeles, and Gail Bradney (Lowell Miller) of Woodstock, NY. They also have ten grandchildren: Shira and Talya Peltzman; Meg Zeimann (Chris), Matt Pickel, Ann Beck (John), Brad Pickel (Shelbie), Scott Pickel, Faye Pickel, Monica Pickel, and Finn Alvaro; and three great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by one sister, Virginia Bradney.
Brad was a renaissance man who was passionate about classical music, history, literature, and the latest tech gadget, and spent hours each day reading, watching lectures and documentaries, and exploring the world online. A tennis enthusiast in his younger years, he and his wife were avid hikers, canoeists, and bicyclists who logged hundreds of miles in this country and across Europe.
Everyone who knew Brad admired his brilliance, deep sense of ethics, encyclopedic memory, unflappable humor, and above all, his lust for life.
