Bridget Sue Bradshaw's Obituary
Bridget Sue Bradshaw 1941-2012
Bridget Sue Bradshaw, 70, of St Helens, Oregon died of natural causes April 10, 2012 at her home.
Sue was born October 22, 1941, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to John R.J. Bradshaw and Dorothy Alice Jones. Her father and mother had met when he was a civilian employee with the CCC program as a forest expert in range grasses, a profession that carried the family through assignments in various governmental programs throughout the Southwest, giving her a broad relationship to Western society.
She graduated from the University of Utah, with High Honors, from their nursing program, a field she followed for the rest of her life. She also, earned a masters degree in nursing from Montana State University.
During the Viet Nam era she volunteered and served a tour-of-duty as a Lieutenant in the Air Force Nurse Corp, being stationed at Cam Ran Bay, South Viet Nam. At the same time her brother Richard was a Laboratory Technologist and blood banker in the Army at the same facility. At the time of her discharge she had achieved the rank of Captain.
She moved to Billings, Montana in 1969, where she taught nursing at St. Vincent's Hospital School of Nursing and, also the Vo-tech LPN program. She was an outstanding teacher and nurse practitioner developing many programs at St Vincent's including, the burn team, the original ICU, and the flight nurse program, just to name a few. Outside of nursing she worked at Gainan Floral and Nursery and her yard reflected the love she had for the flowers, trees and all of God's creatures.
Sue was a strong supporter of Democratic politics, and Public Radio. Most recently she was living in St. Helens, Oregon and working part time at Columbia Center of Mental Health. She was a dedicated helper of needy people and a collector of antiques, especially chicken oriented memorabilia. She never married, having surrounded herself with prolific reading, her pets, and her antiques, while living a reclusive private life. Her close friends deeply loved and cared for her.
She is survived by her friends, especially Joan Koch of Billings, and Sandy and Bob Stepper of Spokane, WA. She has three nephews, Robert, Preston and Andrew, a niece Erin, sister-in-law Maureen all of Havre, MT, and a cousin Quentin and Ruth Ford of Las Cruces, NM.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her only brother Richard and close friend Jack Bowser. Cremation has taken place, with a memorial service to be held later this summer in Billings, MT and internment at Rockvale cemetery. Donations in her memory may be given to National Public Radio, or an animal program/shelter of your choice.
Condolences can be made at www.columbiafh.com
Columbia Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
503-397-1154
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