Drownings spur families to install life jacket stations
Jessica Bradley, surrounded by family and friends, hangs life-jackets at the loaner station, Monday, Aug. 25, 2014. The Hale and Bradley family commemorate the death of Brigham Bradley, who died from downing at Willard Bay in Aug. 2013, installing a life-jacket loaner station in the north and south marinas of the bay.
Jared Bradley (left) places the final touches on a life-jacket loaner station at the Willard Bay south marina installed Monday, Aug. 25, 2014 to commemorate the death of his brother, Brigham Bradley, who died from downing at Willard Bay in Aug. 2013.
Brothers Karter Bradley, 2, left, and Kollin, 5, sit together playing in the dirt as family and friends prepare to install a life-jacket loaner station in the south marina of Willard Bay, Monday, Aug. 25, 2014. The Hale and Bradley family commemorate the death of Brigham Bradley who died from downing at Willard Bay in Aug. 2013.
Jared Bradley works with family and friends to put the final touches on a life-jacket loaner station built to commemorate the death of his brother, Brigham Bradley, who died from downing at Willard Bay in Aug. 2013.
Kaden Bradley, 9, front, stands watching his mom, Jessica Bradley, place the sign on their life-jacket loaner station, installed at the south marina of Willard Bay Monday, Aug. 25, 2014 to commemorate the death of Brigham Bradley who died from downing at Willard Bay in Aug. 2013.
Life-jackets ready to be hung a the life-jacket loaner station installed by the Hale and Bradley family Monday, Aug. 25, 2014, commemorating the death of Brigham Bradley who died from downing at Willard Bay in Aug. 2013.
Jared Bradley (left) and others dump cement into the newly-installed life-jacket loaner station. Family and friends commemorate the death of Brigham Bradley who died from downing at Willard Bay in Aug. 2013. The two families installed a life-jacket loaner station, Monday evening, in the north and south marinas of the bay.
WILLARD BAY — It’s part of their coping process.
Two families installed two life jacket stations at Willard Bay’s north and south marinas Monday evening to remember the loss of their loved ones and help make sure that nothing like what happened to them happens to anyone else.
“It’s a hugely positive place to focus thoughts and energy,” said Cheryl Bradley, of Clinton.
The Hale and Bradley family planned this project for Brigham Bradley, who drowned in Willard Bay last August.
The two life jacket stations loan out jackets to anyone who needs them, free of charge.
Brigham Bradley was riding a personal watercraft with friends in the bay when his craft broke down. He volunteered to stay behind with the machine while the others fetched a tow rope. When his friends returned, Brigham had disappeared. His body was found by search and rescue crews the next day, confirming that he had drowned. Investigators are still unsure how he become separated from the watercraft; however, he was not wearing a life jacket at the time.
Bradley worked with Weber County law enforcement as a corrections deputy in the jail’s medical unit, as well as with Syracuse city as a part-time firefighter.
“It was so up his alley,” said Cheryl Bradley, Brigham’s mother. “He dedicated his whole career to life-saving and spreading safety information.” She went on to explain how Brigham received his emergency medial technician training when he was only 18 years old.
The Hales experienced a similar loss in 2010, after their two sons, Aaron and Jared Hale, drowned in American Falls Reservoir near Pocatello, Idaho, where the family had just moved. Two family friends, Stephen Verbeck and Darrel Shappart, also drowned.
JoAnne Duke, sister of Aaron and Jared, says the project she put together in conjunction with the Idaho State Parks Office at American Falls has helped her family heal, and she knew it would do the same for their longtime family friends, the Bradleys.
The two families were neighbors in Clinton before the Hales moved to Idaho. Duke contacted Cheryl Bradley after hearing about Brigham, hoping to help her install life jacket stations at Willard Bay in honor of her lost son.
They began working together on the project in March, hoping to have it complete and ready for installation by May 17. But due to difficulties they faced with bay regulations, the families delayed installation until Aug. 25, which coincidentally marks the one-year anniversary of Brigham’s death.
“They were really excited and embraced it,” Duke said. “They understood that we knew what they had been through, and they understood what positive … impact this could have. Though we can’t change the past, but had Brigham had access to something like this, he’d maybe still be here … so that’s why we’re here.”
A memorial in the form of a stone monument reads: “It’s only a life preserver when you wear it; wear it every time.”
“We’re all vulnerable,” said Bradley, encouraging the public to share where they think the memorial would have its greatest impact.
Above all, both families want to emphasize the importance of wearing a life jacket when in the water.
“You just never know when that emergency will arise, and then it’s too late to grab a life jacket and put it on,” Duke said. “That’s what my brothers found out; that’s what Brigham Bradley found out.”
The group received a grant from Select Health and donations from the Weber County Sheriff’s Office, where Brigham worked, to cover the purchase of 55 life jackets.
The free life jackets are for day use and meant to be returned. Duke said that the jackets they supplied for a station in Saratoga Springs were all stolen within a month. Duke said, “We want to avoid theft or people keeping the life jackets, but they are always available.”
Duke plans to continue this project elsewhere; she has already completed seven in Idaho and one at Utah Lake. Those interested in donating can email JoAnne Duke at JODUKE@hanover.com.
Contact reporter Morgan Briesmaster at 801-625-4268 or mbriesmaster@standard.net. Follow her on Twitter at @SE_mbriesmaster. Like her Facebook page at http://facebook.com/SEMorganBriesmaster.
