My Younger Brother

 As many of you know my younger brother Bradley passed away suddenly on Sunday May 20th just after 9pm while quadding with his youngest daughter Alicia just outside Drayton Valley Alberta. This was a tragic accident and is horrible for all of us that loved him and knew him and especially for his wonderful wife and best friend Patti of 22 years and their three children Derek, Amanda and Alicia.
 Yesterday was one of the saddest days for me and for my entire family. I will always remember my little brother Bradley, "Little Bear" as he was nicknamed as a child. He brought joy and love to everyone he knew and he will be greatly missed. We love you Brad.  
 For those of you who did not know my little brother, you missed knowing a great man and a wonderful friend to everyone he met. Bradley always told me to forgive and forget and leave the past in the past where it belonged and that is what I learned to do with him. Over the last couple months we had gotten closer again and were talking on the phone and he would help me with advice on the renovations Matt and I are doing in the house here in Toronto.
 Bradley was a devoted husband and would and did do anything for his wife and family. He loved Patti and his children more than anything else and always made sure they were well taken care of and loved by him every minute, he was a great father and would do anything for his son and his two daughters. His youngest daughter Alicia was born ill and needed a liver transplant and I remember Brad and Patti and how devoted they were to get her healthy again and back in good health. They spent so much time in Edmonton with her and were the most amazing parents and the love they shared was truly one of a kind. They made it through after several years of traveling back and forth from Drayton to Edmonton and Patti having to stay at the Ronald Mcdonald House and several surgeries for Alicia over the years. But that little girl meant the world to Bradley and became a beautiful teenage girl today.
 He was the most dedicated father and husband I have ever seen and I always admired and respected him for that. Bradley and Patti met when they were teenagers and through thick and thin met every challenge and managed to survive and stay together and grow together as their love got stronger and stronger. If you looked up true love you would see a picture of my little brother and his wife Patti.
 Bradley as a child could be a rotten little monster but he always did everything so cute and could get away with almost anything. Let me tell you a few of my favorite memories of growing up with Bradley. We were only a year and half apart so we were always quite close and did so much together growing up. We even had some of the same girl friends and many of the same friends in the small town of Bowden where he will be deeply and sadly missed by all who knew and loved him as well.
 When Brad was young , he had to be around 3 and 1/2 or 4 years old and we lived on the farm out by Pine Lake, I can remember my mother planting potatoes and all of a sudden Bradley was trying to plant himself and mom asked what he was doing and he said he wanted to grow more Bradleys. He did this so innocently and truly believed that he could grow more of himself and little clones if he planted himself like a potato. I now wish he could have.
 Another of my favorite memories was of Bradley when he was around 11 years old and we lived in Bowden and Mom and Dad had a store at that time called Double D. Any how Brad and I were at the store and a friend of ours Tamara Sawatsky came in and she was bugging Bardley and called him a Homosepian, well Bradley didn't know what that was and hit Tamara across the head with a hockey stick knocking her out, not funny then but now to look back it was hilarious.
 I have many memories of Bradley and I growing up and won't share them all with you right now but will share a couple more, I remember going sledding with him in Bowden once I had to be 12 and I believe he had just turned 11, we were behind Sinclairs on the hill and we were about to go down on the sled, I was in front and Bradley pushed me off and basically rode the sled down on top of me all the way to the bottom. I looked like a bloody chipmunk and my face was all swollen and bloody. Bradley laughed but man was I mad, Irene Gourlay picked me up and took me home . Not funny then but now a great memory of the things we did and the fun we had together as kids.
 Bradley was always very accepting of my lifestyle and my choices and years ago when I was dating Henry in Edmonton we often went to visit Brad and Patti in Drayton Valley where I also once lived because Brad lived there and helped me to get a job there and a really cute little trailer to live in.I had the pleasure of being Bradley's best man and one of only two people to stand up for and be at the wedding of Patti and Brad and I still have all those pictures. It was an honor for me and one I have never had since. When Patti and Bradley were married they were very young and living in Drayton Valley and their first child Derek was there with us.
Patti and Brad were truly amazing together and I am sure that Patti will be truly amazing on her own as well.
 To my youngest brother I will miss you and always love you. Thank you for being my friend, my brother and at times a confidant. I love you and still can't believe you are gone. You may be gone in flesh but will always be in our hearts and memories and will live on forever through your children, wife and all who knew you.
 Rest in Peace Brad. Born December 1, 1971 and taken away far to soon on May 20th, 2012.
 Please add any of your memories of Bradley in comments if you like.