James Edward Bradley

Services for James Edward Bradley, 97, of Cape Girardeau, will be Saturday, Feb. 16, at 10:30 a.m. at Rendleman & Hileman Funeral Home, 301 W. Spring St., Anna, with the Rev. Sammy White officiating. Burial will follow at Casper Cemetery in Anna.

Mr. Bradley passed away peacefully on Feb. 11, 2013, in Walnut Place, a nursing facility, in Dallas, Texas, where he had resided since September 2012 after suffering a stroke.

Mr. Bradley was born in Cobden, on March 8, 1915, the seventh out of 12 children. He was called “Jim” by everyone who knew him, but family called him “Ed.”

He was very industrious and enterprising at any early age, buying his first car (a Viking convertible) at age 14 from proceeds earned working after school at neighboring farms.

At age 18, he became an assistant manager at the A&P grocery store in Anna; and, soon thereafter he began his retail career as a salesman with Montgomery Ward in Cape Girardeau where his potential for aggressive leadership caught the eye of his manager.

He was soon relocated and promoted to assistant manager in Blytheville, Ark., where he continued to hone his skills and broaden his understanding of retail sales.

In 1929, at the age of 25, he was offered an opportunity for further advancements at Sears, Roebuck & Company in the Chicago area, where his career success progressed to a national level with Sears that spanned more than 36 years during which time he held positions of assistant national sales manager for the entire tire division, then as national retail sales manager over which he managed several hundred employees and held divisional meetings throughout the United States.

He won national recognition for top sales in his department and was considered one of the brightest innovators of marketing technology among the Sears executives and was largely responsible for introducing Michelin tires into the U.S. marketplace.

Even when he was getting ready to retire, Sears talked him into taking over a failing department; he did and ultimately within two years he brought the department into a profit making division. He retired from Sears in 1975 after a 36-year career.

Ed married his childhood sweetheart “Sallie Treece” on Aug. 6, 1941, when they were 26 and 24 years of age. He was transferred to Elmhurst, and Sallie quit her job as secretary to the superintendent of schools and started a lifetime career of volunteering at the Elmhurst Memorial Hospital and the Lutheran Church where they were actively involved members. Later, they purchased a home in Glen Ellyn, where they lived for 46 years.

During retirement, Ed discovered a talent that had been dormant until that time. He painted in the basement of his home where he created many paintings that are still enjoyed today.

In 2003, Ed and Sallie moved to a Lutheran retirement community in Cape Girardeau. The enjoyed the retirement community and bowling on a league. They celebrated 70 years of marriage in August 2011 before Sallie went home to be with the Lord at the end of that month.

Ed soon thereafter relocated to an assisted living arrangement in Dallas, Texas, where he flourished. He enjoyed his spacious apartment, the courtyard and dining room.

He still enjoyed bowling every weekend and maintained a score of 120. He also enjoyed the last year of his life visiting the Dallas and Fort Worth Zoos, Dallas Arboretum, Fort Worth Botanical Gardens and feeding the ducks at a nearby park.

In September 2012, Ed suffered a debilitating stroke which robbed him of his ability to walk, and he then moved to a nursing facility in Dallas, Texas. Still, he did not lose his love of life and remained courageous in his battle with kidney failure and heart failure. He won the heart of everyone who cared for him at the facilities in which he resided with his good looks, charm, talent and dry wit.

He is survived by family members including a sister, Juanita Aldridge; sisters-in-law, Glenda (widow of Luke), Johnetta Bradley (widow of Collin) in Illinois, many nieces, nephews and friends.

Visitation is scheduled Friday evening at Rendleman & Hileman Funeral Home between 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.

The funeral will be held Saturday, February 16, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. at

Rendleman and Hileman Funeral Home in Anna. Interment will follow at Casper Cemetery north of Anna.

Memorials can be made to the Cleveland Clinic.