Obituary of Emanuel Bradford

On Thursday, November 20, 2014 God called Mr. Emanuel "Brad" Bradford from Labor to reward in the presence of his son, Bobby Bradford. Emanuel was born on February 7, 1928 from the union of Charles Lawrence and Florence DeLacey Bradford in Pineville, Louisiana. He was the ninth of thirteen children. Emanuel received his elementary education from Pineville Public School and his secondary education from St. James Catholic School in Alexandria, Louisiana. Emanuel was baptized at an early age by the late Reverend Daniel Hosea in Good Hope Baptist Church, built by his father, in Pineville, Louisiana. Emanuel was an active member of the church, youth choir, Sunday School and sung bass with the Jr. Spiritual Serenators Quartet. As a young man, Emanuel was employed at Camp Beauregard, a U.S. National Guard Facility where he befriended local and national members & captive POW's. After a few years, Emanuel relocated to Los Angeles, California residing with his sister Myrtle Jordan and family. He became a dedicated member of Beulah Baptist Church, under the Leadership of the late Pastor Jodie O. Barnett, Sr. and joined the young adult choir. In his early teen years, Emanuel was drafted into the U.S. Armed Forces where he was assigned to various tour duties including Okinawa, Japan. It was during this time that he met the "love of his life", and married Midori Maeshiro in 1953. To this union, three children were born, Bobby, Daniel and Yumiko. Emanuel and his family traveled and eventually settled in Seaside, CA in 1959. This became their permanent residence. Later in life, after his wife's death, Emanuel established a new relationship with a special companion, Soledad (Da) Aguon until her death in 2004. Emanuel's most note-worthy accomplishments were his devotion and commitment to God, his family, friends, and an honorable discharge in 1971 after 21 1/2 years of duty to our Nation, with campaign Wars in North Korea and Vietnam. He received numerous medals and awards, most notable the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. After his retirement, Emanuel spent his time in charitable endeavors, working for the local food bank, serving his church and community extensively, especially those in need. Emanuel's military legacy followed through his son, Daniel (Army) and grandson, Benjamin (Marines). Sports were Emanuel's favorite past-time. He was an avid baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Watts Giants, learned the art of Golf as a teen, was a great swimmer as a young man, watched his favorite baseball team (the San Francisco Giants as they won the world series three times in the last five years), PGA Golf Tournaments, NFL Football, track and tennis regularly. Emanuel enjoyed calling Bingo weekly at the American Legion, field trips to Lake Tahoe and Reno with the Senior Citizens Organization and embarking on the great outdoors. He loved helping and networking with a diversity of people. Emanuel was an exceptional Mentor to many and raised his sons to be Men and taught all of his children and grandchildren to importance of being a family unit, having respect, integrity and extending love and compassion to others. Emanuel was preceded in death by his wife, Midori M. Bradford; son, Daniel Bradford; parents, Charles and Florence Bradford; 5 brothers; 4 sisters; and companion, Soledad (Da) Aguon. He leaves to cherish his memories, his children, Bobby Bradford (Seaside), Yumiko Bradford Norris (Los Angeles); the grandchildren, Dante Bradford (Virginia), Matthew R. Bradford (Seaside), Midori T. Norris (Los Angeles), Benjamin J. Bradford (Seaside); the great grandchildren, Anjali M. Haley and Aubri D. Haley (Los Angeles); sisters, Myrtle Jordan (Los Angeles), Marilyn Robinson and Betty (Jack) Teasley (Pineville, Louisiana); daughter-in-law, Kelley Bradford; son-in-law, Dana Norris; adopted daughters, Trista Fecter, Estella Aguon, Carmen Aguon-Worthy, Maria Aguon; adopted sons, Jesus Aguon (Rose Marie) and Ramon Aguon (Lyn); special and close friend, Thi Nguyen Craig (a.k.a. Kim); and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.