Bill J. Bradley passed away Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Wichita Falls, Texas, following a lengthy illness.
Graveside services are planned for 1 p.m. Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Beaver Creek Cemetery, 14499 FM 2326, Electra, Texas, and are being handled by Lunn’s Colonial Funeral Home of Wichita Falls.
Bill was born June 3, 1931, in Electra, to Raymond Jack “Rusty” Bradley and Lois Cheney Bradley. He graduated from Electra High School in 1948. He attended Oklahoma A&M College, graduating with a degree in Animal Husbandry in 1953.
Upon graduation from Oklahoma A&M, which later became Oklahoma State University, Bill was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, serving in Korea. He was discharged as a Captain in February 1955 while continuing to serve in the Army Reserve until final discharge in 1959.
Bill married Minnie Lou Ottinger on March 5, 1955. The couple purchased a ranch in Childress County that became known as Bradley 3 Ranch, where he and Minnie Lou settled until his retirement in 1997. Bradley 3 Ranch hosted Texas Christian University’s (TCU) first Ranch Management class in 1956 and is one of only two ranches to have hosted them annually all 70 years of TCU’s program.
Angus cattle were added to the ranch in 1957, and Bill spent 40 years innovating and adding to the ranch. In 1957, the Childress Chamber of Commerce recognized Bill as the top young rancher/ farmer in Childress County. In 1960, he was elected President of the West Texas Angus Association, and in 1973, President of the Texas Angus Association. He was elected to the Board of the American Angus Association in 1974, where he served a three-year term.
He served as a Director of the First Bank and Trust of Memphis Board from 1970 through 1987 and on the Board of the Texas A&M Experimental Ranch. Bill enjoyed being involved in the various ranch-related boards and making friends. In his retirement years, he was active at the Vernon, Texas, Western Trail Cowboy Church and truly enjoyed his time there.
We want to thank the wonderful staff at the Gables of Rolling Meadows for their continued kindness and care of Bill in his later years.
Bill was preceded in death by his wife, Minnie Lou Bradley; his son, Monte Jack Bradley; his parents, Rusty Bradley and Lois Bradley; and nephew Joe Miller.
He is survived by daughter Mary Lou Bradley Henderson and husband James; grandson Raymond Jack Bradley and granddaughter Mandy Ann Popejoy; sister MK Miller; and nephews Phil, Pete and Johnny Miller, along with great-grandchildren and many friends.
In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made in Bill’s honor in care of James Bradley, President of Beaver Creek Cemetery, 13104 St. James Road, Vernon, TX 76384.
