William "Bill" S Bradbury

William Seward Bradbury, 84, of Indianapolis, passed away Nov. 24.

Bill was born Sept. 7, 1938, in St. Louis, MO, to Edward and Arlene Bradbury. He attended schools in suburban Kansas City, KS.  He interrupted college in Kansas to serve 3 years in the U.S. Army at the Army Security Agency in Washington, DC, and Diogenes Station in Sinop, Turkey.  Afterward, he earned a BA in Business at Kansas University and an MBA at Northwestern University.  His career began with consulting at McKinsey & Company in Chicago. Later he worked in marketing management for Proctor & Gamble in Cincinnati, for H.J. Heinz in Boise, and in advertising for Ketchum Communications in San Francisco.

He married Margaret Bailey of Boise, ID, in 1981 and they moved immediately to Indianapolis where Bill worked on Gatorade for Stokley-Van Camp.  In 1984 he started his own marketing consulting business in, Weather Factor, to focus on how climate impacts product sales.

Bill enthusiastically engaged in parish life at St. Monica Catholic Church, helping adults prepare to join the Catholic faith, and a multitude of ministerial and social activities, including as lector and the Men’s Golf League. Bill and Margot were blessed with a “family of choice” that included their neighbors and cherished godchildren.  Any occasion would do for entertaining friends and neighbors, where all were welcome, and discussions were lively.  He was avid about politics, enthusiastically supporting candidates and causes.

Nearing retirement, he began earning a Masters in Pastoral Theology from Loyola of New Orleans. For 20 years, he wrote regular spiritual reflections for St. Monica Reflections online. After years of encouraging others in artistic pursuits, he began wood turning under the tutelage of a neighbor and resumed photography — he loved capturing a perfect sunset and details others missed.  Both activities were set aside as he needed vigorous exercise to battle Parkinson’s for 10 years. Instead, he sought to build bridges among people, reaching out to others with warmth and trust.  His motto became: “Life is all about relationships.” A friend summed it up:  “Bill was all about the love.  He just spread the love wherever he went.”

He is survived by Margaret, his wife of 41 years, a sister, Mary Maloney of Wichita, nephews Michael (Angie) Maloney, Brian (Melissa) Maloney, of Kingman KS, their four children, brother-in-law Patrick Maloney of Kingman and sister-in-law Heidi Bailey of Garden Valley, ID; godchildren Carolyn Leister of West Bend, WI, Nicole Beckage of Portland, OR, Elizabeth Haselby of Los Angeles, and Sam Haselby of Brownsburg.

Services will be in St. Monica Church, 6131 N. Michigan Road, Indianapolis.  Visitation will be 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1 and at 11:00 a.m. Friday followed by a Mass celebrating Bill’s life at 11:00 a.m.  Burial will be in Our Lady of Peace Cemetery. Those who wish to honor Bill with a memorial gift might consider Martin University of Indianapolis or the Holy Family Shelter.