Mary Jo Bradford, age 75 of Helena

Memories

Read the thoughts and memories, then feel free to add your own.

1. Dean Retz says

   January 13, 2025 at 12:31 pm

   Stephanie, Sue and I are so sorry to hear about the passing of your Grandma. Let us know if you need anything. GOD BLESS.

2. The West Family says

   January 14, 2025 at 7:34 am

   Mary Jo was always the sweetest to our family over the years. Our thoughts are with you all.

3. Phyllis Irene Nickles says

   January 16, 2025 at 8:38 pm

   I remember us as little girls. When my parents took us to see our Grandparents Mary Jo and her brothers and my sister and brother use to go swimming in the creek. We also played with the baby goats. So many memories. I remember watching them drive away on their way to California. When Mary Jo was married to Al and lived in Arkansas we visited with them 2 times. The last time her and I just couldn’t hardly let go of each other. But we had to stop driving out of town. Loved her so much and will miss her.

4. Alan Purtle says

   May 21, 2025 at 5:51 pm

   A glimpse of my life with my
   Mother-in-law Mary Bradford

   It all started after meeting Mary’s daughter Joann at Modesto Bowl a bowling alley where Mary and my Best Friend’s mom Donnie bowled together on a team weekly. After Joann introduced me to her mother, I soon found myself dating Joann and hanging out at her house almost every evening and weekend. Mary took a liking to me right away and I was soon invited to go with them to Manteca where they visited family regularly.

   As time passed Joann and I began talking about marriage and just before we were about to get officially engaged, I needed to ask Mary if I could marry her daughter. This became a very memorable event that Mary never forgot. As she was driving us to the Vintage Fare Mall after we had invited her to go, she got a shock of her life. After Joann told her mom that I had something to ask, I proceeded and popped the question. I directly asked, “Can I marry your daughter”? I’ll never forget the look on her face as she said “What” while almost losing control of the wheel and as if that wasn’t enough Joann followed by telling her that we were going to the mall to pick up the ring. After it was all said and done Mary was so happy and said she knew the day was coming but not that day and not in that way!

   After Joann and I married in June of 1987, Mary and Al (Alvin Bradford) married the next month in July. Following that my relationship with Mary grew and grew. Then after a couple of years Mary received another surprise after Joann told her that she was pregnant with her first grandchild which she soon learned to be a baby girl named Stephanie.

   With Mary living about two hours away in Woodland she came and stayed with us for a week when Stephanie was born. Our weekend trips to Woodland increased more frequently so Mary and Al could spend memorable time with their loving granddaughter. Soon after Stephanie became a toddler Mary would drive to Modesto and pick her up and take her for a couple of days before bringing her back home. Stephanie’s vocabulary quickly grew and after the long drive back home Mary would always say man, she talked my ears off! Even though Mary’s ears were sore she enjoyed and loved every moment spent with her granddaughter Stephanie.

   A couple of years after Stephanie was born Mary received another surprise that she was going to have her first grandson which she soon learned to be named Steven. Just before he was born Mary and Al was in the transition of moving to Hanford with their Employer Contadina Foods. During their move and with the help of their recommendations I was hired as a Maintenance Mechanic working in the same department with Mary and Al known as “The Jug Line”.

   With us all living in Hanford we were able to spends a lot more time with Mary and Al, building more great memories together. Not only with Stephanie but now she had Steven to spend the night with them where Mary and Al both shared great wonderful times together with them. Within a year and a half, we moved back to Modesto and a few years later they moved to Nevada. The Nevada trips were fewer, but we continued making some weekend trips to visit to keep the memories growing! Then some years had passed and we moved to Arkansas but for only a year and a half before moving back to California but during that time we made a trip to visit Mary and Al in Nevada.

   Years later they then moved to Arkansas and while out visiting on one of their trips to California I received tragic news that my brother had passed away, so we had to make a sudden trip to Arkansas which ended up being a day ahead of Mary and Al’s trip back. At the time Mary was collecting frogs and at one of our stops in Arizona I saw a small ceramic green frog. Knowing Mary would love to have it I bought it and as we crossed the state line into New Mexico I suddenly had an idea after seeing the state welcoming sign. There I pulled off the road and after writing a short note I placed the little green frog and the note behind the base of the sign. I then had Joann call her mom Mary and tell her that they had to stop at that sign, telling her that she had something special waiting for her behind the sign.

   Mary like myself collected many different things. Besides her frogs Mary also collected salt and pepper shakers, vintage copper tea kettles, and old cast iron skillets to name a few. Her least expensive but most valuable collection was her long-time ongoing collection of rocks. I first remember her packing and moving her rocks from Modesto to Woodland then to Hanford and as her collection grew, she then moved them to Gardnerville Nevada, but the relocating of her rock collection didn’t end there. Mary then hauled them halfway across the country to Arkansas. Then after a long stay Mary rounded them all up and move them on their final journey to Helena, Montana where her Rocks now lay in peace in a rock garden in Mary’s backyard.

   I have a collection of Nutcrackers that I set out for Christmas some three-foot-tall and once Mary saw them, she told me that I could give her one of the tall ones. Throughout the year she harassed me frequently about giving her one, so I decided to buy her one for Christmas. I told her that she had a package on the way, and she got a big surprise when she opened it and soon called yelling and harassing me. I had sent her a real all wood nutcracker but not the traditional Soldier. It was one you hold in the palm of your hand and crank the wooden screw down to crack the nut. Mary had a great laugh and had fun harassing me, but I didn’t tell her that she had another package on the way with a three-foot-tall wooden Christmas Nutcracker. After that Mary started a collection of her own so the next year I searched and found a set of Nutcracker salt and pepper shakers and sent them to her for Christmas.

   In my entire life until about four or five years ago I rarely ever drank coffee and never thought about the difference between old or fresh ground coffee. For many years we had the same old can of coffee that we kept in the cabinet for Mary whenever she came to visit along with an old cheap coffee pot. Not once did she ever complain about the coffee and when I started drinking coffee on a regularly basis, I quickly realized that good fresh coffee was key to a good cup. Looking back, I felt bad and apologized to Mary for serving her the same old coffee all those years. After serving her all that stale coffee she surprised me that year for Christmas with a Keurig coffee maker and from then on, I always made sure she had a cup of good fresh coffee in the mornings on her visits and of course with two teaspoons of original Coffee Mate.

   With Mary living so many miles away and with me doing a lot of cooking Joann would have the three of us on speaker while I cooked as we talked about different dishes and ways to cook. The best times during those long-distance calls were when I would position the phone on the counter near the stove for Mary to watch me cook on Instant Messenger. I would always tell her that her cooking show was on and as we continued one day, I bought a chef’s hat to wear, and she had a great laugh! Even though Mary knew how to cook, good home cooked meals she enjoyed watching and learning new things to cook.

   Some of the greatest times was when Mary would come to California to visit. There were times when telling a friend or a coworker that my Mother-in-law was coming to visit, some would say things like good luck and say they felt sorry for me but when I told them no, that I had a great Mother-in-law and that we get along great they would say, “Really”!⁰

   Mary and I both like antiques and going antique shopping so whenever she visited, she always wanted me to take her shopping so we would go to towns known for having multiple stores. Most of those towns were old small towns up in the foothills. I was a slow shopper and spent a long time browsing in every store, but Mary had me beat. When I was done, I’d start at the beginning, and I would usually find her only about halfway through the store and while enjoying my time with her I would start looking at everything all over again.

   With Mary traveling by plane, she was limited on what she could take back home so she had me store it in boxes for her and overtime she had accumulated a lot of stuff. I remember the time when we went antique shopping, and I told Mary that she could only buy things that would fit in her purse and in her spare pair of shoes because I wasn’t going to store anymore of her stuff. I always joked with and gave Mary a bad time and she knew that well so what did she do, bought an old cast iron skillet but to my surprise she managed to squeeze it in her language to take back home.

   During one of Mary’s visits we went thrift store shopping in search of a cheap used suitcase because she wanted to take some of her stuff back and yes it went home with her packed completely full. In some of Mary’s stuff that I’ve been storing are some short pieces of copper pipe that she bought at an estate sale to make a wind chime, another thing that Mary enjoyed. Though she’s not here I will build her chime so she can hear it from above.

   Whether it was a day out antiquing or exploring new places we were always in search of a good place to eat and whatever we did Mary always insisted on paying for something and almost always I refused but sometimes she was so determined that I would let her pay for either gas or food to make her happy. If we were in Jackson or somewhere nearby Mary liked to go eat at Mel & Faye’s Dinner one of my favorite places that I introduced her to years ago.

   For as long as I can remember Mary would call on my birthday to wish me a happy birthday and tell me that my card was in the mail. My birthday in 2023 I received the same birthday wish by phone and again was told that my card was in the mail. Once my card was delivered and after opening it Mary gave me a shock of my life. Along with her birthday greeting inside the card was a check for $10,000.00. After calling and telling her thank you but that I couldn’t except it she insisted telling me that I deserved it and thanked me for everything I’ve done and for all the time I spend taking her places and doing things with her. Mary continued being persistent and demanded me to put it in the bank, telling me I could use it on the house. I wasn’t comfortable with excepting it but to make her happy I finally agreed.

   I miss Mary deeply and I have so many great memories filled with love and laughter that we shared together and there are so many things that I will miss without her. I enjoyed joking with her and giving her a bad time and I loved when I would get her on a good joke and she would say, “I’m going to kick your butt” or “I’m going to beat you with this stick” which was her cane. Whatever we did we always had a good time and another day we’ll spent!

   Mary had a very special place in my heart and always will. Not by choice but she was in my life longer than my own Mother that I was only able to spend thirty-one years with before losing her to cancer. Like all the memories with my own Mother I will always cherish all the great memories that were built in the thirty-seven years that I was fortunate to share with my Mother-in-law Mary Bradford.

   Thank you, Mary, for all the great memories, I love you and miss you.