Bradford Guthrie

Nov 26, 1934 - Oct 14, 2020

Bradford Raymond Guthrie was born in Dayton, Texas, the youngest of four children ( after Doris, Claudine, and Bob) to Della and Claude Guthrie, and grew up in the nearby town of Conroe. As a young man, Brad was drafted into the US Army and was shocked and delighted to find himself stationed at the Presidio in San Francisco, where he and his best friend Charles Alworth moved soon after he finished his service. There he met the lovely Masako Endo and proposed to her after just two weeks of dating. They were married and moved to Berkeley, where they raised their daughter Kimiko, and spent fifty- three wonderful years together. A talented actor, writer, and cartoonist, Brad studied at The Elizabeth Holloway School of Theater, received English degrees from SF State and UC Berkeley, and performed with many Bay Area community theater groups over the years, including the Playhouse Theatre, Actors Ensemble of Berkeley, and Dandelion Dancetheater. His play Bottom of the Ninth was produced at Mill Valley Center for the Performing Arts in 1980. Brad worked as a draftsman for several architectural and engineering firms and retired at the age of 72 when he was diagnosed with stage four cancer. He successfully battled the cancer and went on to live another fourteen joyous years with his family until the cancer returned, this time terminally. A devoted husband, father, and friend, cherished for his enormous heart, brilliant mind, playful wit, joie de vivre, and extensive knowledge of film, sports, and politics, Brad will be forever loved and missed, most of all by Masako, Kimiko, his son- in- law Brian, and his granddaughters Mariko and Kaela. We can still hear his smooth, resonant voice singing his favorite Bing Crosby songs.