Damaris Riddell Bradley

Artist, wife, and beloved mother Damaris Riddell Bradley (“Dee”) passed away in her sleep on June 15, 2020 in her home near Phoenix. She was born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska in 1931, and was the second daughter of Dr. Ted E. Riddell and Miriam Riddell of Scottsbluff.

Damaris was inspired to become an artist as a young girl and graduated from Scottsbluff High School in 1949. She was a beautiful woman both inside and out. In 1950, she was chosen as Scottsbluff ’s Jubilee Queen to celebrate the city’s 50th anniversary. She studied art at the University of Nebraska and was a member of the Delta Gamma Sorority.

After graduating from college in 1953, Dee married Donald Bradley, also of Scottsbluff, and they moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she taught art to students in grades four through six. Soon after their first child, Sandra, was born, Dee and Don moved to Nashua, N.H. in the fall of 1955, where Don worked at Sanders Associates and where their sons Michael and Mark were later born.

In Nashua, Dee was active in the Nashua Artists Association, the Nashua Women’s Symphony Association, and the Memorial Hospital Auxiliary. In 1964, she was the Nashua Women’s Chairwoman for Senator Barry Goldwater’s Presidential Campaign. Dee taught Sunday school at the Church of the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church for many years. She was an avid skier, golfer, tennis player, diver, and swimmer throughout her life. She enjoyed reading and had a great love of good music.

In 1974, Damaris and her family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, where her husband Don began working for Motorola. She converted half of the garage into an art studio and completed many beautiful oil paintings and pieces of stained glass. Dee loved growing flowers and did the yard work along with her husband. She loved being a mom, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Damaris was preceded in death by her parents and her sister Sandra (Robert) Berggren of Scottsbluff. She is survived by her husband Donald, daughter Sandy Billington of Phoenix, and sons Michael Bradley of Scottsdale, and Mark Bradley (Kym) of Salt Lake City. She is also survived by six beloved grandchildren, three beloved great-grandchildren, and other beloved extended family members.

A small, private “Celebration of Life” Service (due to Covid-19 restrictions) will be held on Saturday, July 18, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. The service will be live streamed online at 10:00 a.m. on the Whitney and Murphy Funeral Home’s Facebook page for friends who cannot attend the service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in tribute to Damaris at St. Mary’s Food Bank at www.firstfoodbank.org or by mail to St. Mary’s Food Bank at 2831 N. 31st Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85009-1518. Condolences and Hugs from Home may be expressed at www.whitneymurphyfuneralhome.com