Obituary for Irma Edith Bradford (English)
Irma Edith Bradford (née English) was born September 28, 1931 to Harry and Sally English in Newark, New Jersey. Irma loved to play piano and did so for USO shows. Irma, mom, or grandma was the “balabusta,” a Jewish homemaker of extreme care and pride. For decades mom took pride in her cooking for the local Jewish community as part of the sisterhood at Temple Judea and later Chabad of Oceanside.
Irma loved life for its vibrant culture, often recalling time in Israel and Italy but fond of and quietly meditative in a casual Confucianism. She’d read the local newspaper from front to back, preferring obituaries to the comics. Irma was never short of an opinion and insight on the world as it was, having a profound sense of justice strongly affected by Tikkun Olam, the Holocaust and its suffering expressed through music, cinema, and literature.
Irma was known for her unparalleled generosity and love that filled her home like the Jovan Musk she’d wear to her favorite evenings at the Moonlight Amphitheatre. She loved sharing her passion for culture, treating friends and families of generations to Broadway shows and live music whose later recordings were often heard with rich fullness in her home we called ours. And her home was ours. Her children grew and ate citrus in her yard. They would raise their own children in her home. Her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren would look to her for comfort. They looked to her for security. They looked to her for support and pride; she provided them light at the end of tunnels which knew only darkness. They would eat at her table, watch the classics on her couch, and read and write on her carpet. She would meet our boyfriends and girlfriends who would become our husbands and wives and sisters and brothers. Irma, her life, and her home allowed her family to forge their own. This was her pride.
Irma passed peacefully in Vista, CA on January 27, 2021 at the age of 89. May her memory be a blessing. Irma is survived by her sister, Ilene English Paul, of Sebastopol, CA; her brother, David English, of Hawley, PA and her children: Natalie Barnes, of Crestwell, OR; Cynthia Sawyer, of Vista, CA; Daniel Rice, of Chester, MD; and Shari Bradford Hall of Brookings, OR. She is predeceased by her daughter Alyson Rice, Z”L.She is loved by her 9 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.
Irma loved life for its vibrant culture, often recalling time in Israel and Italy but fond of and quietly meditative in a casual Confucianism. She’d read the local newspaper from front to back, preferring obituaries to the comics. Irma was never short of an opinion and insight on the world as it was, having a profound sense of justice strongly affected by Tikkun Olam, the Holocaust and its suffering expressed through music, cinema, and literature.
Irma was known for her unparalleled generosity and love that filled her home like the Jovan Musk she’d wear to her favorite evenings at the Moonlight Amphitheatre. She loved sharing her passion for culture, treating friends and families of generations to Broadway shows and live music whose later recordings were often heard with rich fullness in her home we called ours. And her home was ours. Her children grew and ate citrus in her yard. They would raise their own children in her home. Her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren would look to her for comfort. They looked to her for security. They looked to her for support and pride; she provided them light at the end of tunnels which knew only darkness. They would eat at her table, watch the classics on her couch, and read and write on her carpet. She would meet our boyfriends and girlfriends who would become our husbands and wives and sisters and brothers. Irma, her life, and her home allowed her family to forge their own. This was her pride.
Irma passed peacefully in Vista, CA on January 27, 2021 at the age of 89. May her memory be a blessing. Irma is survived by her sister, Ilene English Paul, of Sebastopol, CA; her brother, David English, of Hawley, PA and her children: Natalie Barnes, of Crestwell, OR; Cynthia Sawyer, of Vista, CA; Daniel Rice, of Chester, MD; and Shari Bradford Hall of Brookings, OR. She is predeceased by her daughter Alyson Rice, Z”L.She is loved by her 9 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.