Eternal rest grant unto him Br ot he r L aw r e nce Bradfor d
B orn • M ay 24, 1939 Professed • August 15, 1979 Died • September 15, 2015 •
Requiescat in Pace
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Brother Lawrence Bradford died peacefully on Tuesday, September 15, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, surrounded by monks and friends, fortified by the Sacraments of the Church, and having received the Apostolic Pardon. Larry Glenn Bradford was born on May 24, 1939, the son of Harold and Aurice (Groom) Bradford in Atlanta, Kan. He attended elementary school throughout Kansas, and graduated from Palco High School, Palco, Kan., in 1957. After completing a Bachelor’s degree at the University of Kansas in 1961, where he was received into the Catholic Church, he came to St. Benedict’s College to study in the seminary for one year. In 1962 he entered the novitiate at the Abbey, but withdrew a short time afterward. He would come back one year later to begin the novitiate again, profess first vows, and go on to study theology for two years in the Abbey’s Theology School, but left before professing solemn vows. He received a Master’s Degree in teaching from Northwestern University in 1970 and began teaching at the high school level. A call to find Christ in community would continue to attract Br. Lawrence’s heart, and in 1978 he returned to the Abbey to begin the novitiate. This time he stayed, professing First Vows on August 15, 1979, and Solemn Vows on August 15, 1982. While in first vows he taught mathematics and science at Maur Hill Prep, and served as Assistant Organist and Sacristan for the Abbey liturgies. Upon professing Solemn Vows he began doctoral studies in microbiology at the University of Kansas, completing that degree in 1989. While at KU he also helped as organist at the St. Lawrence Catholic Center. In addition to serving as a professor of microbiology at Benedictine College, Br. Lawrence was Kitchen Master and continued as Assistant Organist of the Abbey. He was faithful to prayer and the common life. He loved to cook for the monks and guests, and for a time belonged to a gourmet cooking club in Atchison made up of professors and other friends. He relished conversations with monks at social gatherings, with colleagues and students in the college, and with family and visitors. He was a popular figure on campus. In his love for the arts and the sciences Br. Lawrence was a true renaissance man. He enjoyed going to lectures and concerts. One of his favorite books that he often encouraged young monks to read was Leclercq’s The Love of Learning and the Desire for God. In the 1980s Br. Lawrence was active with Father Robert Brungs, S.J., Ph.D., a physicist who directed The Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology. Brother Lawrence was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Aurice. He is survived by the monks of the Abbey, two sisters, Karen Lee (Arthur), Salina, Kan., and Shirley Ruda (Kenneth), Atwood, Kan., and one brother, Harold Bradford, San Simon, Ariz.; nieces and nephews, and numerous colleagues and friends. We commend our brother, Br. Lawrence, to your prayers.
the year of mercy
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