Phillip Bradshaw

Phillip David Bradshaw born October 8, 1940 passed away on September 15,2022. He was preceded in death by his parents Rose and Newmon Bradshaw. He is survived by his daughter Jenn ,her wife Sandy and his best friend through it all Fred Falahee. He often joked he outlived everyone he knew except us. Traditional obituaries make the person seem perfect, without fault,  almost saintly. If you knew my Dad,  you know that was not the case . He was stubborn, rude , bossy and just plain mean. He burned bridges throughout his life alienating those around him and seemed to prefer being alone . Then one day it happened, that come to Jesus moment people like my Dad dread. Fred told my Dad to just be nice. Stop lashing out at him and me and Sandy. We are who love and care for him and he’s gonna one day push us away for good. Imagine my surprise when I was greeted by my Dad with a smile instead of a cross word . He hugged me when I left instead of ordering me to get out. We began spending time together and finally getting to know one another over the last two years. He shared stories about his time at City College in Baltimore, his time in the Army in Vietnam “jumping out of perfectly good airplanes “. He never saw that time as heroic. His military record shows otherwise. He loved the Orioles, Maryland Football but most of all the Ravens. One of his favorite memories was attending the Super Bowl and watching the Ravens win on January 28, 2001. He had a love for fast cars and worked at the family garage for more than 50 years. Dad began coming over for dinner and we watched Clint Eastwood movies and he spent time petting our Sphynx cat although he was 100% a dog person. We started going out for breakfast just him and I to Denny’s for pancakes , coffee and conversation. When his health took a turn for the worse and it was clear he was not going to make it, Dad did the unthinkable, he acknowledged all the things he did in the past. He admitted that he regretted he wasn’t a better father. He wanted forgiveness. He held our hands when we visited and clearly didn’t want to let go. In the end the past didn’t matter , he was my Dad and I forgave him. I will cherish the good times and forget the bad. I love you Dad. I’m going to miss you so much !

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