Lewis Gary Bradham Jr's Obituary
Lewis Gary Bradham, Jr, 51, passed away on October 10, 2022 after a courageous battle with cancer. He is preceded in death by his father, Lewis Bradham, Sr. Survived by his wife, Stacie, his three daughters, Tiffani (Milad), Sara (Terry), and Tarynn (Daniel), his mother, Lorraine, his nieces and several aunts and uncles. Few people can truly find the person who they were meant to be with and know without a doubt that they are soul mates. Lewis and I are two of those people. From the point of our marriage, June 9, 2004 to today, our lives together have been an amazing journey filled with love, family, friends, unity and fun. No matter what we were enduring, good times, hard times or sad times we knew we always had each other no matter what. Lewis’ fierce love and devotion to his family was palpable and there isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for us. We are blessed with an amazingly close family unit. At our wedding we had a family vow. That wedding was not only for Lewis and I to vow to each other, we also vowed to our three daughters that we were a family and would always be there for each other. Lewis and I have always been thankful and have felt blessed with the strength of our family and the bond that our daughters have. Those three amazing women we are so honored and proud to call our daughters. Family was so important to Lewis. He always supported our parents. Being sure to show our kids how important it was to always make the time to see family. So many fantastic memories were made through vacations, special trips, celebrations, family projects, card games and time spent together. Our family grew with time and we have three fantastic son-in-laws, Milad, Terry and Daniel. Lewis’ proudest title however came in 2017 when he became Poppy. Payton, Emma and coming soon in February, Baby Lewis, are his little coconuts! There is nothing Poppy wouldn’t do for them and he was so excited to know that Baby Lewis is coming. Our friends. Really our extended family! So loved! The memories made through our vacations, dinners, parties and time together. The stories from those times! Just so you know there really is a Disney police (however very nice), you get a souvenir cup at Pat O’ Brien’s for every hurricane you drink and you know you have devoted friends when a Tropical Storm doesn’t deter them from going to Key West with you to celebrate your 50th birthday. The laughter and love and support. He loves you all so much. Lewis never realized the effect he had on people or how many lives he positively influenced. If you worked with him, he always pushed you to be your best. Challenging you and giving you honest feedback whether the truth was pretty or not. He had no problem giving you a pat on the back or a kick in the rear. But if you did your part, he always had your back. Lewis was passionate about giving back. When he was introduced to the Children’s Home Society, The Joshua House and Mort Elementary, Lewis knew he had to get involved and it was so important to him to help kids have a better life. He was so moved by what he learned. He came home that day and was sharing with me about what CHS was, what the kids had gone through before getting to the Joshua House. How Mort Elementary served a community that looked to that school for so many needs. In true Lewis fashion, he was in 100%. Birthday gifts for kids at Joshua House. The angel tree at Christmas had too many angels still on it and we would be Christmas shopping. A child at the school needed supplies or clothes or the school’s food bank had a need. And the support for those causes from our family, our friends and our co-workers meant the world to him. Publix’s support of those charities meant the world to him. After 34 years with Publix, (it can happen when you start when your 15!) Lewis was blessed that we were in a position that he could retire. If you ever asked him if he missed it, he would immediately reply the only thing he missed was the people. The plan was to take a year off, do what he wanted to do. Focus on his health which was the best it had ever been in his life. Figure out who he was if he wasn’t working 55-60 hours a week and enjoy life. And he was the busiest retired guy I have ever seen. He trained with his trainers 4 days a week. Played golf with friends, always had lunch dates and truly enjoyed that year. The plan for the second year was to find an entirely new career. We started on that plan, but found out God had a different plan. In March 2021 we were told Lewis had stage IV Kidney Cancer that had already metastasized through out his body. We learned RCC is termed a silent cancer, rarely showing any symptoms and is not curable. True Lewis fashion, we met it head on and he gave it one hell of a fight. Along that journey he was an example of strength and grace. He again touched so many people with his attitude and outlook. If he had a day where he wasn’t feeling well or when treatment started having a negative effect, he would always tell me that it wasn’t that bad because someone, somewhere had it worse than him. Up to Lewis’ final days, he pushed, he loved, he engaged and he inspired. And he did it as he always does, he did it his way. Never surrendering until he knew his daughters were good. That his grand babies were good. That baby Lewis was going to have the best start. That his mom was settled. That he had done his best to rectify any regrets that he had. That he had set me up the best he could so I have no issues to deal with. He loved and he is loved and he will always be a part of us and everyone he touched.
Services for Lewis will be held on Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 6 pm with a reception immediately after. Trinity Memorial Gardens 12609 Memorial Dr. Trinity, FL 34655 The family requests that those who wish to express sympathy to consider making a donation to Mort Elementary School or Hospice in remembrance of Lewis.
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