Wendy Jean Bradley of San Marino passed away peacefully with her family by her side on December 5, 2022.
Wendy was born in Los Angeles, California, in September 1941, and was adopted by her parents David and Roberta Slothower. She grew up in Compton and attended the schools there from K-12.
After graduating from Compton Senior High School in1959, she attended the University of Southern California, where she studied biochemistry and music. It was there that she met her late husband Dr. Bruce Elliott Bradley. Wendy left USC before completing her degree to support her husband through medical school and to raise her family in San Marino.
The mother of four was active in the lives of her children and community, and was involved in the Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, band boosters for HMS and SMHS and the San Marino Women’s Club, to name a few. She enjoyed many trips to parades, competitions and Disneyland with the marching band and working on grad night at SMHS for all four of her children. She worked in the San Marino school district as a substitute teacher for many years and enjoyed her time with the students and staff.
One of Wendy’s lifelong passions was her love of music. Being exposed to music at an early age, she began playing the piano at the age of five. When she was in the fourth grade, she began playing the flute, and played throughout her whole life. In high school, she played in the marching band and the Compton Community Symphony. She was named the outstanding wind musician in her graduating class in 1959. She continued playing her flute at USC with the Symphonic Winds and orchestra.
In 1988, she decided to take a music theory course at PCC for fun. This sparked her desire to finish college. She joined the PCC Chamber Orchestra the following year in addition to becoming a full-time student and applied for reinstatement at USC. She was accepted to the Thornton School of Music where she completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education. Over the past 33 years, Wendy played in several bands and organizations including the LASD Band, the Covina Community Band and the Burbank Community Band. Every summer, she enjoyed playing with the San Marino Community Band at Lacy Park on the 4th of July. She will be remembered for her “Stars and Stripes” piccolo solo.
As an adopted child, Wendy did not know much about her biological family until she did a search on Ancestry.com in 2018. She was overjoyed to find out that she had a full brother living in California. In the short time that she had with her brother, she cherished getting to know him and learning about the history of her family.
Wendy is survived by her four children, Jennifer, David ( Stephanie), Laura and John (Margie); her six grandsons, Taylor, Sean, Maximilian, Jackson, Zachary and Carter; and by her brother Richard Noble (Marianna).
A celebration of life will be held at 10 a.m. on March 4th at the San Marino Congregational Church.
