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Three Generations and Counting
8/21/2007
 The Bradley family has pledged its loyalty to the University of St. Thomas as three generations have chosen to pursue their undergraduate degree at the school. John Bradley Sr. was among the school’s founding class in 1947, as was his twin sister Joan and brother Patrick. His son John graduated from UST in 1981 and John’s son Richard will be attending this fall.
After finishing college in 1952, Bradley Sr. joined the Navy and then went on to work in the claims department for a tugboat company on the Mississippi River. He later got a job with American General Insurance and stayed with the company for 30 years before retiring in 1989. An economics and history major, John said he was worried that his fellow UST classmates would be smarter than him.
“I was from a small town with only 30 students in my high school graduating class,” Bradley said. “I thought everyone at St. Thomas was going to be smarter than me because when I got there I had never heard of the word philosophy. Going to St. Thomas shaped my life. I learned about religion, philosophy, history and what went on in the world.”
As a member of the UST Volunteer Corps, Bradley remains connected to the University, volunteering to transport students in the UST van. Bradley's wife Shirley is also very involved in the UST community and was named an honorary alumna for her volunteer work.
John Bradley Jr. decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and attended UST after graduating from Strake Jesuit College Preparatory. Now the district attorney for Williamson County, Bradley Jr. majored in English and originally wanted to become a novelist. He met his wife, Leslie, at UST. When it came time for their son Richard to choose a college, Bradley Jr. was careful not to suggest his alma mater too much, as he thought it may have the opposite effect.
“If I told him to apply there,” he said, “I thought he wouldn’t want to, so I asked my dad to take him around the campus and he liked it and applied. I tried to bite my tongue and not be overly praising.”
Actually, for Richard, the fact that his grandfather and father both attended UST positively influenced his decision to attend.
“Because they both went to UST, I automatically put it on my list,” Richard said. “Also, St. Thomas fit my needs, was ranked well and I liked the campus size.”
Richard plans to major in psychology and is interested in becoming a psychiatrist.
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