I knew Brad from elementary school on. He lived a five minute walk from my house in Boardman (Youngstown), Ohio. In 1968, he was a member of Boardman’s state champion speech team.
We were the only students from Boardman High School to attend Oberlin College from 1969-73, though we didn’t really keep up with each other during those years. The last time I saw Brad in person was during the momentous days of early May 1970 after the National Guard murdered four students at Kent State. One of the murdered students, Sandra Scheuer, was from our high school, and we both knew her. It must have been 9 or 10 at night, and I saw Brad sitting in an open window on the second floor of one of the administration offices of now-occupied Peters Hall smoking a cigar, his legs dangling over the edge. He had long dark hair and a beard, and one could easily have pictured him as a Cuban revolutionary. The students had taken over the administration building to demand action against the Vietnam war and against the killing of innocent students.
Brad retired just over a year ago after practicing law for 36 years in the states of Oregon and Washington. He then moved from Portland, Oregon to Pattaya, Thailand. He had returned last month for a brief visit to Portland and died on January 13, 2023.
In one of our message exchanges of the last few years, I asked Brad how it came about that he went to Oberlin. He replied the following.
“I was directed to Oberlin by the Superintendent of Boardman Schools, Grant Kibbel [who attended Oberlin in the late 1930s]. He was an alumnus and figured that my 12 year history of non-conformity and trouble-making that got me in constant trouble for not respecting Authority, would be a good fit. He could not have been more right! He wrote the recommendation that probably got me in.”
His was a raging but gentle soul, and he was a good person.
Douglas Clark
I knew Brad from elementary school on. He lived a five minute walk from my house in Boardman (Youngstown), Ohio. In 1968, he was a member of Boardman’s state champion speech team.
We were the only students from Boardman High School to attend Oberlin College from 1969-73, though we didn’t really keep up with each other during those years. The last time I saw Brad in person was during the momentous days of early May 1970 after the National Guard murdered four students at Kent State. One of the murdered students, Sandra Scheuer, was from our high school, and we both knew her. It must have been 9 or 10 at night, and I saw Brad sitting in an open window on the second floor of one of the administration offices of now-occupied Peters Hall smoking a cigar, his legs dangling over the edge. He had long dark hair and a beard, and one could easily have pictured him as a Cuban revolutionary. The students had taken over the administration building to demand action against the Vietnam war and against the killing of innocent students.
Brad retired just over a year ago after practicing law for 36 years in the states of Oregon and Washington. He then moved from Portland, Oregon to Pattaya, Thailand. He had returned last month for a brief visit to Portland and died on January 13, 2023.
In one of our message exchanges of the last few years, I asked Brad how it came about that he went to Oberlin. He replied the following.
“I was directed to Oberlin by the Superintendent of Boardman Schools, Grant Kibbel [who attended Oberlin in the late 1930s]. He was an alumnus and figured that my 12 year history of non-conformity and trouble-making that got me in constant trouble for not respecting Authority, would be a good fit. He could not have been more right! He wrote the recommendation that probably got me in.”
His was a raging but gentle soul, and he was a good person.
Rest in peace, Brad…
Douglas W. Clark, ‘73