John Thomas Bradley, the founder of J.T. Bradley & Sons
Ltd. was born in Blackburn, Ontario in 1869. He moved to Navan
in 1898 with his wife Florence to open up a general store in
that community and to raise a family of 6. He also owned and
operated a milk transport which remained in the family until
the late 1970s. John Thomas Bradley died suddenly in September,
1932. Two of his sons, Morris Smyth and William Borden carried
on the business until Borden's death in 1952 and Morris' death
in 1975.
Morris was a charter member of the Navan Lions Club and a huge
supporter of all community activities throughout his lifetime.
His wife Elda was a tireless worker of the Navan Women's Institute,
the Navan Branch of the Canadian Red Cross Society, particularly
during World War 2, and a proud and faithful member of the Ottawa
Women's Canadian Club for many years. They raised a family of
3, Lorne, Ross and Marilyn.
Lorne Bradley, oldest son of Morris and Elda, carried on with
J.T. Bradley & Sons Ltd. Lorne and his wife Joyce had four
daughters, Joy, Lorna Jane, Wendy and Kathleen. Lorne founded
M.L. Bradley Ltd. in 1965, a school bus company which today
has 70 plus buses on the road and is now managed by Lorne's
son-in-law Gord Both, and his wife Kathleen. The headquarters
of M.L. Bradley Ltd. on Frank Kenny Road was used for offices
and meeting rooms by the local committee of The Internationsal
Plowing Match 2001. Lorne was President of J.T. Bradley &
Sons Ltd. from 1975 to 1991. He was a charter member of the
Navan Lions Club (1952) and a staunch supporter of all community
activities, mainly the building of the first Navan Arena in
1952, its rebuilding in 1955 and the installation of artificial
ice in 1972 and the construction of the thired Arena in 1982.
He was President of the Navan Curling Club the year it opened
its brand new facility in 1991. Lorne died in December, 1991.
Ross Bradley, second son of Morris and Elda had his entire
working career at Statistics Canada, Ottawa, from 1954 to 1989.
Ross was elected to the Cumberland Township Public School Board
for the period 1965 to 1968. This was during the period when
Meadowview School in Navan and Riverview School in Cumberland
Village were built and the sod was turned for Queenswood Public
School in Orleans. He has been a member of the Navan Lions Club
since 1960 and was instumental in having the Navan Tennis Club
come on the Navan scene in 1976. Ross was a driving force in
the formation of the Navan Curling club in 1984 and in seeing
its construction become a reality in 1991. He continues to be
a member of the Board of Directors of the Curling Club. Today
Ross can be seen at Bradley's store almost every day of the
week as he goes about many of the behind the scene's activities
there. Ross and Gwen raised a familty of four. Their oldest
daughter Carol works with the Treasury Board in Ottawa. Their
second daughter Heather is employed in the Speaker's Office
of the House of Commons. Their oldest son, Don works in the
high tech industry in Silicon Valley, California, while John
is at the store in Navan. Marilyn, daughter of Morris and Elda,
was owner of Winchester Tours and Travel in Winchester, Ontario.
Marilyn has two sons. Bradley lives in British Columbia and
Ken lives in Russell. She has recently sold her business in
Winchester and lives in Russell.
John Thomas Bradley is the great grandson of the founder of
J.T. Bradley & Sons Ltd. and son of Ross and Gwen. He along
with his wife Linda are the present owners of J.T. Bradley's
Country Convenience Inc. and have been since 1994. John worked
in marketing and sales for J.M. Schneider Ltd. for 7years prior
to coming to the Navan store. John was very active in the preparation
of the bid to bring the International Plowing Match to Navan
in 2001. He was the prime organizer for the Street Dances in
Navan (1999-2001). From these events he was able to turn over
almost $60,000 to the organizing committee of the International
Plowing Match 2001. Most recently, Streetdance 2005 and Chicken
BBQ raised more than $25,000 for the OutCare Foundation, the
Navan Fairboard and the Navan Lion's Club. To date, the Streetdances
in total have raised over $100,000. John is currently Vice Chair
of the OutCare Foundation and has been appointed to the City
of Ottawa's Business Advisory Committee.
The Bradley family has been fortunate in receiving excellent
support since it arrived here in 1898 and for that reason it
will be forever indebted to the Navan community. Tragedy struck
the Bradley business in August 1948 when the store and principal
home burned to the ground. Reconstruction began immediately
and the new building opened for business in January 1949. It
has undergone several improvements over the years, most recently,
the provision of the retail outlet and warehouse for the Navan
based company, Chilly
Chiles.
October 17, 2006
Located in the heart of Navan,
JT Bradley's is a convenience store selling groceries, liquor,
beer and movie rental services
