"Jonathan Seagull discovered that boredom and fear and anger are the reasons that a gull's life is so short, and with those gone from his thought, he lived a long fine life indeed." --Richard Bach, Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Julian (Jay) Raymond Bradford was born Sept. 3, 1925 in Chowchilla, Calif. to Raymond and Florence Bradford, rounding out his family seven years after the birth of his sister, Betty. Although he never put any stock in astrology, he was a Virgo through and through: reliable, intelligent, analytical and hard working.

When Jay was born, a pound of bread cost nine cents and a dozen eggs cost 60 cents. Oak hardwood floors and solid wood rolltop desks were popular. Sliced bread hadn't yet been invented.

An eager student with a craving for learning, Jay's education was interrupted for a year when, as a child, he was diagnosed with and treated for tuberculosis. Having overcome that, he returned to school, advanced and graduated.

As a teen and young adult, Jay would save the money he earned from doing odd jobs to purchase issues of Popular Mechanics and 75-cent helicopter rides that encouraged his love of flying. Ultimately, he entered the Air Corps and was trained at Luke Field in Phoenix, Arizona.

After Jay's military training, he enrolled at Whitter College in Whitter, Calif., supported by Betty, who had saved enough money from her government job to help pay his tuition. While in college, he worked part-time in the college cafeteria ("it was a great job; they gave us leftover slices of pie at the end of the night") and completed the requirements to earn his teaching credential.

"Mr. Bradford" was employed as an elementary school teacher in the Whitter City School District for nearly 40 years. He primarily taught fifth grade—his favorite—but went as low as fourth and as high as eighth. He had a reputation for strict classroom management and for creating customized curricula for his students. His goal was always to meet students at the grade level where they entered his classroom and to help them achieve their full potential, whether in reading, spelling or mathematics.

Each morning, five to seven of his students would bring a newspaper clipping of their choice to class, present the news to their peers and field a Q&A. It was a way to sneak more reading into the curriculum and to encourage his students to become engaged in their community. Students were graded on a 1 to 10 scale based on their presentation and understanding of the subject matter.

Jay also established a habit of reading to his students each day after lunch. It was the one time of day that students of all types agreed to settle down and listen. When he finished a chapter or two, his students would often plead with him to read more. Those daily readings introduced kids to classic youth literature including Where the Red Fern Grows, White Fang, A Wrinkle in Time and Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

Jay's love for art also seeped into the classroom. As adults, his former students recalled making kites, pot holders and glass bottle candles under his tutelage. They spent countless hours sanding down balsa wood to create the Skywalker, Jay's favorite model glider. It was a tradition that he even impressed on his daughter and grandson as they were growing up.

At one point in his career, Jay advocated for his school to start allowing girls to take shop class. "They're just as smart as the boys," he said. "I don't see why they can't enroll." And from then on, they could.

In the 1960s, Jay met his wife, Suzanne. They lived in the same apartment building in Whitter, and she – also a teacher – knocked on his apartment door one day to ask him to keep the noise down. Turns out he was building a motorcycle in his kitchen.

They dated for a couple of years and were married in 1969. Jay proposed in an airplane at 4,500 feet.

In the early 1970s, Jay and Suzie built a house in Hacienda Heights, Calif., where they stayed for nearly 40 years until Suzanne was called to heaven by the Lord. Together, they raised one daughter, took coastal road trips, played Canasta with family, enjoyed lifelong friendships, pursued hobbies and made their house a home. Their marriage was built on a foundation of honesty, loyalty and genuine respect for one another.

During his married life, Jay purchased small planes and rebuilt them as time allowed. He was also a voracious reader of Sport Aviation and National Geographic Magazine. Less than six months before his passing, he read his final book: a memoir by Captain Chesley Sullenberger III, who safely landed U.S. Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River. "If I were in a mess, that's the guy I'd want flying my plane. He was brilliant. He was trained , like they used to train 'em."

Jay also had a great love for musicals, particularly the music of George Gershwin, and the Big Band Era. For many years, he and Suzie had season tickets to musicals at the La Mirada Theater and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. At the same time, he enjoyed science fiction television shows and movies.

Each weekend, Jay tended to his front and back yards. He took pride in being one of the few residents on his street to cultivate his home's landscaping, which was lush with green plants, roses, fruit trees and flowers.

Not to be outdone by his wife, who earned her master's degree in education at Cal State Fullerton, he also made time to enroll in master's-level courses there. He stopped just one to two classes shy of earning his master's degree once he had advanced as far as he could on his district's pay scale. "I wanted to be sure I was just as smart as she was," he said of Suzie—although he was always quick to add, "I only did as well as I did because she read all of my papers before I turned them in."

Ultimately, after Suzanne's death in early 2007, Jay moved to Salome, Ariz. to live at an airpark near retired pilots and veterans. At the airpark, each family has a small home. In lieu of garages, they have hangars where they keep their small planes sheltered from the weather. The HOA maintains a runway and flights to Lake Havasu, Quartzsite and Jay's second home in Prescott, Ariz. are just a stone's throw away.

Jay was a cancer survivor and had fought and won a series of health issues over the course of his lifetime, however his 2020 diagnosis with acute myeloid leukemia was a tough one. He fought the good fight but ultimately the Lord called him home – and he was ready to go. He passed peacefully on March 30, 2021 at his daughter and son-in-law's home in Castroville, Texas.

Jay was preceded in death by his parents, Raymond and Florence Bradford; his sister and brother-in-law, Betty and Paul Auer; his beloved wife, Suzanne Bradford and his calico cat, Gem, who was sweet as pie.

He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Christi and Jonathan Fish of Castroville, Texas; his grandchildren, Aiden and Isabella Fish, and one stubborn (yet occasionally lovable) rescue cat named Lucky.

In lieu of flowers, family and friends are encouraged to make a donation to a no-kill animal shelter in Jay's name. We also encourage you to make the extra effort to connect with and care for your neighbors and friends, just as Jay did.

In lieu of a service, Jay has requested cremation and for his ashes to be placed in California alongside those of his wife. Arrangements have been made by Tondre-Guinn Funeral Home.

Family, friends and former students are encouraged to celebrate his life by sharing their memories of him online at https://www.tondre-guinn.com/obits . Photos can also be shared with the family at christisfish@gmail.com .