Gladys Lillian (Ray) Bradley was born on August 27, 1940, in New Orleans, Louisiana to Edward and Angelina "Dorothy" Ray. Although she was an only child, Gladys spent much of her childhood and young adulthood with her beloved auntie, Barbara Gross, and her dear cousins, Patricia (Clivens) Jeff and Ruth "Deedee" (Clivens) Robinson. She graduated from Booker T. Washington High School (New Orleans, Louisiana) in 1958. She was baptized at First Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in New Orleans by Rev. F. L. Riley and in her early teens she played piano for the youth choir.

On May 1, 1962, Gladys married Wade T. Bradley and their union was blessed with two daughters. The family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1963. Gladys worked for 30 years as a Dietary Supervisor at Country Villa Convalescent Home. In both her personal and professional life, Gladys was well-known for her delicious cooking. Those who knew Gladys, knew that she could cook any and every type of food – especially soul food; catfish, potato salad and gumbo.

Gladys retired from her job at Country Villa in Los Angeles in 2007. In her retirement, she traveled to a number of places including Hawaii, Israel, Egypt, and Puerto Rico. Some of her favorite past-time activities included playing lively games of Bid Whist and Pokeno, shopping, and crafting. Gladys loved music, with her favorite artist being Marvin Gaye, and spent time attending outdoor concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. She had a green thumb and spent a lot of time planting in her backyard and painting garden figurines.

She also filled her time driving her Gold Toyota Echo around Los Angeles. She even ventured out to San Diego and Mammoth. Gladys enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren and watching planes land at LAX airport. While she wasn’t a big sports fan, she liked to watch Stephen Curry and LeBron James play basketball. One of her favorite T.V. shows was Bonanza and she had a love for old Westerns. Gladys was a member of Faithful Central Bible Church and supported a number of charities and ministries including Charles Stanley, Joyce Meyers, and Saint Jude’s Children Hospital.

Gladys was predeceased by her parents. She is survived by her daughters, Angelina Bradley and Shelia Bradley Elston (husband, Al) ; her grandchildren, Porcha Owens Neal (husband: Lionel, children: Chloe, Kahya), Perry Owens (wife: Ebony, children: Brandon, Brooke, Brian), Marcus McCall (children: Marcus Jr, Mariah), Imani Elston, and Albert Elston Jr.

Rest in peace.

Gone but never forgotten.

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