Johnny Bradley, age 88, passed away on July 12, 2024, at Ogeechee Area Hospice after a short illness. A devoted husband; a loving father, grandfather, and great-grandfather; and a farmer in the community of Adabelle for over 50 years, Johnny will be remembered by his family, church, and community for an exemplary life devoted to following Christ.
Born in Evans County to Inez and Willie Bradley, he was the third of seven children. He attended school at Canoochee School and Register High School where he participated in football, baseball, basketball, and track and field and in each of which he was convinced he was the best man on the team. Having been told by his father that church was the place to find a good wife, he visited the Hagan Baptist Church and decided upon his first sight and sound of Frances Anderson singing in the choir that he was going to marry her. At the time of her death in November, 2020, they had been married 66 years.
Except for a few months, Johnny and Frances spent their entire married life in Bulloch County where after a successful career in the insurance industry, at the age of 38, he returned to Adabelle where he had grown up and launched a farming operation with his son which the two of them maintained up until shortly before his death. A member of East Main Street Church of God, he served as a teacher in adult ministries for over 60 years. For nearly twenty years, he led a community Bible study at the family pond house.
A natural orator, in 1980, Johnny testified before a Congressional Subcommittee on the growing agricultural crisis. Described as a “Bible-quoting baritone” by the national press, his testimony was shared in news media across the country. In 2016, his story of growing up as the son of a sharecropper was broadcast on National Public Radio and included in the book “Callings.”
He is survived by his children, Keith Bradley of Register, Kathy Bradley of Register, and Katherine Bradley (Neil Midkiff) of Nerja, Spain; his grandchildren Adam (Jennifer) Bradley of Rentz, Georgia, and Kate Viana (Peri Finch) of Suwanee, Georgia; and his great-grandchildren Jackson Bradley and Chambless Bradley of Rentz, Georgia, and Adria Jane Viana of Suwanee, Georgia. He is also survived by one brother, W.B. (Nancy) Bradley of Claxton, and three sisters, Linda Sammons (James) Harris, Sue Mock, and June Braswell, all of Statesboro; two sisters-in-law, Doris Bradley of Statesboro and Margaret Green of Collins; and one brother-in-law, Steve Anderson of Collins, along with a number of nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be held on Monday, July 15, 2024, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Joiner-Anderson Funeral Home and a funeral service will be held Tuesday, July 16, 2024 at 11:00 am in the Chapel of Joiner-Anderson Funeral Home with Pastor Lelon Jeffers officiating.
Burial will follow the Ephesus Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, Register.
Serving as pallbearers will be nephews Jim Anderson, Brett Brinson, Clay Mock, Rick Mock, Carl Sammons, Jr., and Justin Hendrix.
Remembrances may be made to Ogeechee Area Hospice, P.O. Box 531, Statesboro, GA 30459, to which the family offers its deepest gratitude for the compassionate care offered in the last several weeks.
Friends may sign the online register at www.joineranderson.com.
Joiner-Anderson Funeral Home & Crematory of Statesboro is in charge of the arrangements.
March 2, 1936 — July 12, 2024