Malphus Leroy Bradbury, Jr. ’54

Malphus Leroy Bradbury, Jr. ’54, of Raleigh, N.C., died Aug. 10, 2012, from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was born on Nov. 10, 1931, to Malphus Leroy and Maggie Harris Bradbury in Wilson, N.C., where he grew up. He was a star athlete and after attending Davidson for a year on an academic and athletic scholarship, he entered the U.S. Air Force, and served at Clark Field in the Philippines. He received an engineering degree at N.C. State and earned the M.B.A. degree in the first class awarded that degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Bradbury joined Carolina Power and Light Company and worked as district manager in several locations, then for several years as executive assistant to the CEO. His entrepreneurial spirit directed him into successful businesses of his own, and his love of learning lead him back to education. He taught at Hardbarger Junior College, and ended his career there as director of the school. In his retirement he began to write, and eventually he published two books of poems. Bradbury’s brother, Edward Earl Bradbury, and a sister, Joan Frances Bradbury, preceded him in death. He is survived by his sister, Thelma B. Barnes, 2601 Canal Dr. NW, Wilson, NC 27896-1214, and his sister-in-law, Louise Bradbury; by four nieces, Kim Hartley (Herb), Diane Smith (Marvin), Lynn Askew (Phil), and Traci Bradbury; by two nephews, Michael Bradbury (Sharon) and James Barnes; by great-nieces, Heather Smith, Emily Askew-Lovett (Scott), Rhonda Godwin (John), Maggie Hartley, Elizabeth Hartley, and Sydney Bradbury; by a great-great-niece, Emma Carolina Godwin, and a great-great-nephew, Sam Lovett; and his devoted friends remain to mourn his death, and remember him in life.