Marylyn Patton Bradley departed Avondale, Arizona on _______________ to travel to Maple Grove Cemetery near Bonfield, Illinois to reside forever next to her husband in the family plot.

Born December 20, 1947 in Quincy, Illinois Marylyn was third of three daughters born to Cecil and Edith Patton. Raised in a beautiful two story brick home in a peaceful perfectly manicured multi-racial community she was immune to racial prejudice. An excellent student Marylyn was editor of the Quincy High School Newspaper, elected to the Student Council and inducted into the National Honor Society.

Class of 66 Marylyn matriculated to The University of Illinois as an Honor Student. Final's Week 1967, John Bradley who was theoretically in charge of Hubbard House, found a pretty nineteen year-old girl with beautiful red hair asleep on the floor of his room. Her friend Suzi was dating a Hubbard House man. After celebrating Finals week at Treno's they walked by to see him, he was not there, they needed to rest, my door was unlocked, there they were.

Two years later Marylyn made John drive 340 miles to Quincy to propose to her father who gave her his blessing. On the way home ecstatic John passed Chatsworth, Illinois on U.S. Route 24 as Neal Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon. While everyone else was thinking about men on the moon John was dreaming about heaven on earth. Married December 27, 1969 in a traditional ceremony in the church of her youth Marylyn and John commenced living as one "till death did us part".

Marylyn was brave. Assuming everything would be fine we withdrew our $500 in savings, she took charge of our treasure, we packed everything owned into Dad's pickup truck and immigrated to Southern Illinois University. She immediately got a job and life worked out like she knew it would from that day forward. Being married students was fun so John and Marylyn eventually earned three degrees each.

Marylyn was extremely competent. A Registered Dietitian, promoted into Human Resources Management she bore the brunt of raising a son (Eirean), daughter (Katherine) plus two "Throw-away girls". She and John wore out two "kid-hauler" vans attending events, teaching Sunday school, taking kids to dance lessons, baseball games, camping, youth group meetings, outings and such.

Capstone of an illustrious career was her final fifteen years as Phi Theta Kappa Advisor at Estrella Mountain Community College. There she and her mentees earned a myriad of awards as one of the most successful chapters in America. All at Estrella was accomplished as her kidneys worsened into end-stage failure. Marylyn's students knew nothing about her crisis.

Martin Luther King Day 2010 Marylyn received a kidney transplant and new lease on life. During Marylyn's fight for life she changed nothing in her regular work routine. She attended every meeting and answered every email, call and text, almost instantly. "God not only gave her a gift with that kidney, he gave a gift to everyone whose lives Marylyn will continue to affect in a positive way," said Phi Theta Kappa President Yvette Moller.

April 12th, Estrella Mountain Community College's faculty and staff were greeted with: "Congratulations to our PTK students!" Marylyn and her students had just returned from the Phi Theta Kappa International Convention in Orlando, Florida with an unheard of four Hallmark awards and a spot on the top 100 Chapters in America list for the tenth consecutive year.

Yvette believes Marylyn knew that if her students had known about her condition, they would not have focused as needed to achieve the awards they won. "I think she knew that we would have placed PTK on the backburner for her, and that is what she did not want."

In Marylyn's words "I have a missionary spirit to what PTK and community colleges can do in the life of a student. In many cases, this experience creates a turning point in their life" so Yvette was probably right.

Marylyn was Estrella Mountain Community College's "Woman of Distinction".

Upon retirement in 2015 Marylyn joined St. Peter's Episcopal Church where she led a team that fed Veteran's once a month and provided hospitality to parishioners before and after each Sunday worship service. Saint Marylyn lived an exemplary life of service to others.

She is survived by her husband John Bradley, son Eirean, Bradley, daughter Katherine Chance, Son-in-Law Lee Chance, granddaughter Lydia Chance and grandsons Canaan Bradley and Deven Chance.

Family will gather at Maple Grove Cemetery for interment at her gravesite when weather permits.