To know Jean Lavon Ward Bradshaw was to know a woman of incredible grace, warmth, and stamina. A tireless organizer of functions and people, presenting in the petite form of a gentle society lady. A party by Jean, whether a fundraiser or to celebrate, was an EVENT. All details were thoughtfully attended to, even the weather obeyed her instructions for an outdoor party. Her Farm garden parties were legendary and still talked of by attendees nearly twenty years after the last one was held. Jean was a wonderful host, she worked hard to connect her guests to each other so that each one felt they were the guest of honor. She had a knack for remembering all the small details of guests lives and then checked-in for a progress report as she stealthily worked the room.
A master of logistics, supplies, and scheduling a family party wasn't a party if any member of her family was missing. She worked and reworked schedules to ensure everyone could attend a family party despite sports, school, work, or other extracurricular activities. Jean gathering her family for a dinner party at her beloved Farm was a force to be reckoned with as she went through a thorough review to ensure all family updates were shared and celebrated. Though she could be elegant and glamorous, she could also be very down to earth when she donned her "Farm duds" each Saturday through her mid-life to work on the grounds and gardens at the family Farm in Farmington, UT. All of her children grandchildren spent portions of their youth working with Grandma Jean and Bompa Don at the Farm mowing lawns, picking cherries, and planting the many flower beds in preparation for the annual Garden Party. All of her children and grandchildren credit the notion of a strong work ethic to the summers spent working beside them at the Farm.
While her family was often the beneficiary of her event planning prowess, this was a skillset she honed to great success in her corporate career in fundraising and event planning for both the Holy Cross and University of Utah Hospital Foundations, as a newswoman for the Deseret News, her volunteer work with the Junior League other volunteer groups, and the Master's Degree she earned in her late 50's from the University of Utah. Jean led a truly remarkable life and her family is very sad that the impacts of the Coronavirus will prevent us from celebrating her life and accomplishments as she and we would have liked. While she lived to be 94 years old her many interests and successes suggest someone that must have lived many lifetimes. Jean passed away due to incidents of age and the complications of a fall. Shortly before she passed, several members of her family, both near and far, marshalled logistics and gathered technology in a way she would have appreciated to be virtually with her and Don Bradshaw, our dear father and Bompa at the end.
Of the many things this virus has taken from us, this final rite of passage to mark the loss of one we hold dear is perhaps the hardest. A private graveside service will be held Saturday, April 18, 2020 at the Willard, Utah Cemetery. Please indulge a proud and loving family in a remembrance to Jean Lavon Ward Bradshaw our wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother in a life lived well and to the fullest.
Jean was born in Logan, UT but spent her growing up years in Ogden, UT with her sisters Ann and Judy in a very happy childhood. She was proud to have attended Ogden High School with its classic art deco architecture and to have served in student government and as the co-editor of the high school yearbook. Jean attended and graduated from the University of Utah in 1947 with a degree in English after having served as student body vice president and the editor of the Utonian yearbook. She was also a member of the Chi Omega sorority. Her love of writing and organizing events and outings is apparent in all her growing up years as Jean kept a vibrant group of lifelong friends and connections from her childhood and college years.
Her first job post-graduation was as a reporter and later as an editor for the Deseret News covering Women's and Midweek reporting. It was while working at the Deseret News that she fortuitously met and began dating Don Bradshaw. After a courtship that included Jean taking a work trip to England and Don sending a telegram that said, "Have a great time across the sea, then come home and marry me." They were married December 1, 1951 and later sealed in the St. George LDS Temple. With marriage, Jean had left her job at the Deseret News as was customary of women at that time. However, Jean was not a stay-at-home type and came up with the idea for a home décor and design television show called "Brighten Up Your Home" that aired on KDYL Channel 4, the local NBC affiliate, two times a week from 1951-1953 that she helped produced and starred. She left the show in 1953 due to the impending arrival of her oldest son David because during that era women didn't appear on television while pregnant!
As their family grew to include their children Daniel, John, and Amy, Don and Jean were also busy with career pursuits. Jean was very involved with the Junior League; holding many positions within the organization and the National Junior League which included an extensive travel schedule with kids in tow. Her Junior League trips mean that her children were well traveled in the U.S. as these trips often became mini-family vacations. Her television and writing experience were put to work by the Junior League producing TV shows for children. She also kept up her writing as a free-lance writer for the Deseret News, Skiing Magazine, and Others.
The family enjoyed skiing and camping jeep trips, both of which would become long family traditions that extended to the next generation with many multi-generational camping trips and ski outings over many decades that included many good family friends. The camping trips with family and friends inspire such life-long silliness as the "Easter Lizard" who takes over for the Easter Bunny if you happen to be on a southern Utah jeep trip over Easter weekend but who sometimes comes north to deliver eggs if you happen to be a Bradshaw.
It was when their children were all in their teens, that Don and Jean purchased a property in Farmington, UT near Farmington Pond with an old pioneer homestead and a field of cherry trees. Originally they planned to build a home on the property and permanently move there, but the children objected to leaving their friends in Salt Lake City and so the property, affectionately known as the Farm, became a weekend retreat from the city and a many decades long project where sons David, Daniel, and John learned the finer points of racoon and skunk wrangling while helping restore the old pioneer house and the entire family pitched in with sandbags when the property was nearly lost to the floods of 1983. On different occasions, the family defended the property from fires with garden hoses and prepared to evacuate family heirlooms. The Farm played backdrop to three family weddings, many fundraisers, and especially family parties on long hot summer nights where Jean would stuff the family with potato salad, hot dogs, Farm style lemonade with mint, and eskimo pies. The menu almost never changed which gave every Farm family party a lost in time magical feel like you could always step back in and pick up your exact place.
Due to her work with volunteer groups, Governor Scott Matheson asked Jean to form a state-wide volunteer network which was at the same time she was pursuing a master's degree at the University of Utah in her late 50's. She proudly completed her master's thesis entitled, "Developing a Statewide Community Communications Network through Voluntary Efforts" earning this degree in 1983. A happy photo of the day with Jean in cap and gown includes her husband, children and three grandchildren. She often spoke of being the "grandma in tennis shoes at the U" with her younger classmates in the master's program. It is worth noting that she received not one but two college degrees in an era when it was rare for women to attain any degrees. This was not a message lost on her six granddaughters who have all received their bachelor's degrees and some have gone onto secondary degrees.
After completing her master's degree, Jean became the Executive Director of the Holy Cross and Jordan Valley Hospital Foundation. She would spend the next decade of her life fundraising for the hospital and building a volunteer network. She helped build a bridge between the nuns of the Holy Cross hospital and the LDS Church Relief Society; using her famous quip to break down barriers by insisting, that despite religious differences it was mostly the same, "just Sister First Name meeting Sister Last Name and continuing on with the good work". She was so good at fundraising that O.C. Tanner proclaimed upon handing over a $25,000 donation to the hospital that "Jean Bradshaw is so amazing. She is the only person in the world who can ask you for money and have you tell her thank you." When Holy Cross Hospital was sold, Jean and her fundraising team moved to the University of Utah Hospital Foundation where she continued to fundraise for another nine years before formally retiring. Her success stories for the University Hospital include raising $13 million for the Eccles Critical Care Pavilion.
Jean was one of the first women to join the Salt Lake Rotary Club and formed a close friendship with the other early women members. She served as an active club member from 1987 to the time of her passing and as the Salt Lake Club Vice President from 1997-1998. During her career, she mentored many young women who went to impressive careers of their own.
When asked to recount favorite memories, her grandchildren universally highlighted the annual cousins back-to-school sleepover at the Farm. A weekend before school started each year spent just with grandkids and grandparents for movies, a wickedly serious game of monopoly, a Farm BBQ, and shopping for a back to school outfit. It was a well-loved annual event that each grandchild participated in from kindergarten through high school graduation. Sometimes even the college-aged grandkids came home to attend. Very important were the pictures drawn at the sleepovers that would grace the Farm fridge until the next year's sleepover.
A close second memory particularly for her granddaughters must be Grandma's instructions on the "Fluffy Apron" routine that was the sure-fire way to land a husband. The highlights include that when you have decided your boyfriend is Mr. Right, you must invite your boyfriend over for a homecooked meal. Grandma Jean noted that actually cooking the meal was not required, but you must put the meal in the oven like you did cook it and use your nicest dishes (Grandma pro-tip). When the boyfriend arrives, you should be wearing a fluffy apron (she gifted each granddaughter an appropriate apron). With the smells of the awesome dinner coming from the kitchen, greet your guy and then serve the fabulous dinner to your target, uh boyfriend. With romance in the air and a full belly, he won't know what hit him and will be yours. Apparently, this routine worked on Bompa. A few of us the married granddaughters have tried it so it must still work.
Jean loved nothing more than a family party with all members present. Though her health was failing and hosting the glorious parties she had once orchestrated proved too much, she persisted and insisted on having what would be our last Bradshaw family Christmas dinner with her in late December 2019. It was a festive event that featured four generations all together, quite a bit of great grandkid induced chaos, but reflected 94 years of love and effort on the part of Jean Bradshaw to bring her clan together. She will be missed. Her stories will be told. Her legacy and lessons will live on we have no doubt.
Jean is survived by her husband of 68 years Don Bradshaw, son D. David (Sharmon), son G. Daniel (Holly), son John, and daughter Amy Young (Howard). Her nine grandchildren: Kate, Christy, Mark, Natalie, Scott, Ike, Jenny, Hannah, and Emily. And eight great grandchildren with two additional great grandchildren on the way this summer that we hope she meets in transition. She is preceded in death by her parents and sisters. A private graveside service will be held on Saturday April 18th at the Willard Cemetery
