Bradley Matthews Longden

Son of Karen and Lee Matthews — don’t ask about the last name, it’s a long story.

Brad was born in Hayward, California January 16, 1962. He, his mom and sister later returned to Salt Lake where they lived with his Grandma Margie and Grandpa Chick, but he always longed for the ocean.

He married the love of his life, Kathy Clement, and together they had two great kids, Terry and Kristen who made his life worthwhile and brought him joy.

Brad’s passion was music. We always said he was born in the wrong era. It wasn’t uncommon to walk into a very loudly played “White Room” by Cream, coming from the basement. Brad also modeled his look after Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin with the tight bell-bottom jeans that his mother would hunt everywhere to find.

Brad was clever and had a way of mimicking that could be so funny. He had a voice that should have been on the radio and had such a wit about him.

He lived the Rock and Roll lifestyle and some of the things that came along with it. Brad suffered most of his life from mental illness and drug addiction that was fueled by a back injury he sustained working for the SLC School district. This illness caused him to be difficult to live with but it also caused him endless mental torture.

Let’s remember those times when Brad was happy and was the coolest guy in the room.

He is survived by his loving and loyal wife Kathy, who tried so hard to work around his craziness, son Terrance and daughter Kristen. He is also survived by his mother Karen and dad Lee. His sisters Lori and Megan wish him happiness and joy in the afterlife. We hope he’s with Gen, Art, Margie, Chick, all his beloved pets and maybe Jack Bruce.

We hope you found the peace you were always seeking.

We wish to thank Dr. King Udall for the loving care he provided Brad over the many years.

A family celebration will follow at a later date.