Marjorie Mae "Happy" Bradburn 79, of Idaho Falls passed away with all of her immediate family holding her hands at her bedside October 28, 2019. "Happy", as she was known for about the last 20 years, was the name given to her, by her granddaughter, for her bubbly nature when she was around friends and family.
Happy was born February 21, 1940 in Oklahoma City, OK, the only child of Glenn Faris and Nettie (Cook) Faris. When she was 2 years old, they moved into the Edgemere house in OKC that stayed in the family for the next 40 years. She was a long-haired little girl doted on by many, including neighbors and her Tulsa aunts, Mae and Dorothy. Friends, George and Beth Cunningham, helped raise her, as well. She recalled a great childhood spent playing outside games with close friends and neighbors. She had such fond memories of holiday times spent with the Faris aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Her father, Glenn, was an orator and prominent figure in the Chamber of Commerce and city government. Through his work and donations, he was responsible for finding a site for the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, and for promoting to have it come to Oklahoma City as opposed to another city. He was awarded for his success in that pursuit and was acquaintances of many famous cowboy personalities of the time, like Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and John Wayne. Happy felt fortunate to meet these folks but especially enjoyed time spent with other working ranchers who became family friends and who she tried to stay close with throughout her life.
Happy was a very good student in grade school. She had knack for being able to memorize things which helped her in spelling and early math. Because of her fairly social upbringing, she also did well in speech classes and participated in school plays, including High Noon, where she had the part as the young bride. She remembered acting opposite Norman Singer who later became a surgeon, then killed in Vietnam. There was a memorial honoring him in the Cowboy Hall of Fame for many years.
From ages 15 to 17, Happy practiced and competed in couples roller skating. She remembered her partner, Rocket Skating rink, and winning a bronze medal in a Regional Event. She enjoyed skating for fun, from time to time, in the next few chapters of her life, even skating while carrying children in her arms!
Before leaving high school, Happy met H. Franklin Bradburn. Frank was just finishing college but then he was drafted in the Army to work in Alaska. The relationship managed to survive through various correspondences with the full support of Happy’s parents. They were married on September 17, 1959 in Oklahoma City. She was thrilled to become part of the Bradburn clan. Frank had three older siblings so Happy’s family base grew immensely, something she treasured the rest of her life. Not long after their marriage, their first son, Bruce Alan was born while Frank was still in Alaska. In the next two years, Frank came home and finished a Masters Degree in Nuclear Engineering and second son, Brian Glen, was born.
Happy and Frank moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho in January 1963, when he took a job at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory. Happy was thinking they were headed for the forested mountains like the ones she visited as a kid in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park. Idaho Falls was not exactly what she expected. And visits back to Oklahoma would not be frequent because travel was expensive and time-consuming. Nevertheless, she rolled up her sleeves and set out to be the quintessential 1960’s, dress-wearing, kid-raising, husband-loving, church-going housewife. The family lived in a duplex on the west side of town until their third child, daughter Julie Ann, was born two years later. That same year, they bought the house that would be the family house for the next 30 years. It was also on the west side of Idaho Falls closer to where Skyline High School was built. As the kids grew up, she was quite a force, keeping the family clean, well-fed, and on time. Since the three levels of schools were all within one block of home, the kids could easily run home for lunch every day. Happy supplied breakfast, hot lunch, and dinner, consistently, for most days for more than 15 years. She was extremely meticulous when it came to cooking and how the yard and house were kept. She had her own special way of doing things. Butter and salt were her favorite ingredients. :) During all this time, the family also had very beloved cats and dogs. Happy was always their clear favorite not just for food but for the love she provided. It was very taxing work but Happy was always a very energetic person.
As the 1970’s wound down, the kids, one by one went off to college. Then they each went off to pursue jobs into the 1980’s. These were some dreamy years including when Bruce married bride Kim White. But in 1985, Bruce passed away suddenly and unexpectedly from a heart attack. He was 25 years old. This was understandably extremely hard on everyone, Happy included. She did her best to push on, doing a terrific job in keeping holidays special and cooking for family when they came home. In those years, she also took pride in rescuing lost animals, especially one lost dog she found and cared for. The thankful owner later gave her a plant which she kept like a trophy all her life.
All through the years, Happy and Frank felt so truly blessed for the friends and neighbors that came into their life and became a part of their extended family. Some stemmed all the way back to the duplex neighborhood in the early 1960’s. In 1995, they increased their neighbor family even more. They moved from where the kids were raised to their current home, less than a half a mile away. Happy could tell you all about all the wonderful neighbors: names, experiences, kids, grand kids, jobs, etc., down to the most amazing level of detail, even if they moved away. She also enjoyed caring for any of the neighbors’ animals and always tried to keep fresh water and bowl of food out for them. Her kids were thankful that the neighbors were able to distinguish between Happy and a burglar when she came over to visit the pets unannouced. :)
Near the turn of the century, Happy enjoyed daughter Julie’s wedding to Eric Milius up in Jackson Hole. In the ensuing years, she was blessed with two wonderful grandchildren. Julie gave birth to Makenna in 1999, and Jackson 2003. They were the light of her life.
Although Happy had a number of significant health setbacks in the 2000’s including kidney damage, bilateral breast cancer, and macular degeneration, there were still good times. She was so pleased when Brian finally married Jeanine Bussiere in 2001. She enjoyed growing tomatoes every summer and prized the complements she got about her roses in the front yard. She and Frank joined the YMCA and enjoyed the senior exercise program and yoga. She learned to use a smart phone which she used every day to support her desire to keep up with everyone on Facebook and texting. She marveled that it was a good thing smart phones came about because there would be no amount of refrigerator door space to handle all the photos she collected and considered so precious.
In September of 2018, she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and subsequently went to California to be closer to her kids (in Ventura and Newbury Park) while undergoing treatment. She did not enjoy California that much but certainly enjoyed the time spent with family that she would not have had otherwise. She enjoyed extreme weather which southern California normally does not have. However, the spring rains were especially heavy in 2018. One day, when shopping in Newbury Park, it snowed there for the first time in 30 years. And get this: the day that happened was the day of her birthday, February 21.
Happy was fortunate to be able to make a few trips back to Idaho in that final year when she always enjoyed catching up with the neighbors and friends. She always had a notepad close at hand. One entry she made there was that she didn’t want anyone to be sad when she passed. She was looking forward to the rest and, if it was still a good thing in Heaven, unlimited butter and salt.
An informal celebration of Happy’s life is planned for spring.
----------------
"I am here with you. I am here with you until your last breath and you will be with me even after and always." - unknown