Bradford John Claeys was born on February 23, 1963. He was the father of Taylor Claeys, son of James and Julia Claeys, brother of Terri (Scott) Boerboom, Bob (Mary) Claeys, Cathy (Dave) Nowariak, Patti (Ron) Fox, Jeff Claeys and Chris (Jodi) Claeys, uncle and great-uncle to many and loved by all.
Brad was a proud man. He was proud to grow up as a kid on a farm in a small Midwestern town in Minnesota. He loved the farm, the community and his family.
Through the years, he would often talk about the good times we had growing up. Catching baseballs Dad would hit to all of us in the front yard, playing endless hours of the card game 500 around the kitchen table during snow storms, or playing out in the snow piles until Mom would call us in for her fresh, hot waffles. Oh – how Brad loved his waffles… Life was good.
Life, though, was not without a few bumps in the road for Brad. At a young age, he suffered an infection in his kidneys, had a few broken bones, fell off his bike more times than anyone can remember. But the thing that had the most impact on Brad’s health was a head injury he suffered during baseball practice when he was just a teenager. Brad would suffer from many seizures and later developed epilepsy, which he struggled with throughout his life.
Brad graduated from Southwest State University in Marshall with a degree in Agri-Business. Even though he did not stay on the farm, he continued working in the field he loved. Upon graduation, he worked in Clarke, South Dakota, then Ames, Iowa and ultimately ended up in Kansas City, Missouri, where he lived out the rest of his days.
On January 1, 1994 he was united in marriage to Jennifer Schoeller. On March 9, 1994 his son Taylor was born. Taylor was Brad’s pride and joy. He was always so proud to be his dad.
Throughout the years, Brad continued to work in the world of finance. He was good at it. He took pride in his work and enjoyed doing it well.
Due to his continuing health issues, Brad was forced into early retirement. As hard as this was on him, it did not come without some rewards. He and his son, Taylor were able to travel together on several occasions and experience new and exciting places. They continued to do so, until Brad’s health became too much of an obstacle.
Brad’s love for his son was always evident. Taylor was the first person he thought of when he woke and the last when he went to sleep. Always at his side, even when he couldn’t be there physically.
On the morning of Friday, February 3, 2017 Brad suffered a heart attack. The Lord ended Brad’s suffering and took him home to be with his grandparents, many aunts and uncles and cousins. His pain is gone and his suffering is over.
May he rest in peace.
