Anna Bradshaw

Funeral for Anna Bradshaw, 81, of Sterling, was at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 6, 2024, at the Sterling School Auditorium, with her cousin Robert Willis, officiating. Burial followed at the Mountain View Cemetery under the direction of Fletcher Funeral Home.

Anna passed away at her home on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Sterling, with family by her side. She was 81 years old.

Anna Lois (Bridges) Bradshaw was born May 2, 1942, in Sterling, to Clifton and Evelyn (Rother) Bridges. In 1945, as many families did during this time, they migrated (seven people in one car) to California in search of work. They stayed there for a year before returning to Sterling. Within another year they were back in Bakersville, California, where Cliff worked on a ranch.

They continued to live there for seven years before returning to their hometown in Sterling, where Anna started school there in her eighth grade year. She graduated from Sterling High School in 1960. She was active in FHA, Basketball, FHA officer, Annual Queen, cheerleader, SR play, Annual Staff. She also won a Speech Award. After high school she moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where she worked at a bank.

After she moved back to Oklahoma she met the love of her life, Gerrell Gene Bradshaw. After marriage, brought two sons. First, Eric Todd, born November 1964; then Jared Tyrone born June 1967. During this time, Anna worked with her Aunt Barbara Baughman making custom drapes while also being a devout homemaker. Around 1985, she and Janet Julian started hanging wallpaper locally until around 2000. After that she went to work for the Federal Housing Authority in Sterling until retirement.

Anna was very active in her son’s school events and activities. She was a boy scout den mother, always in the stands at any of their sporting events, stock shows or any other activity they were involved in. As a family, they enjoyed water and snow skiing, taking family road trips (if you would like to know how these were, just reference the movie family vacation), family gatherings, and being around friends. After her sons started families of their own, she continued these traditions with her grandkids. They were her pride and joy and she loved to brag about each of them.

While she loved being at all the events for her kids and grandkids, and spending much of her time with them, she looked forward to spending her time with what Todd referred to as the “Hen Club”. This group of women have been clucking for 43 years.

In 2000, Anna met Russell, her boyfriend of 25 years. Russell and Anna enjoyed going to family events, grandkid school events, particularly stock shows, and pestering each other. Anna was always spoiled with flowers from Russell until the very end.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Clifton and Evelyn Bridges, Brother Leroy Bridges, and husband Gerrell Bradshaw.

She is survived by her boyfriend Russell McRae, her sons: Todd Bradshaw and wife Lisa, and Jared Bradshaw and wife Nicole; nine grandchildren: Lacey Bradshaw, Marissa Bradshaw, Madison Woolbright and husband Trevyn, Mason Bradshaw and wife Korie, Makaila Bradshaw, Cody Harrell and wife Amanda, Caley Ellison and Husband Caleb, Albert Rivas, and Anthony Rivas, and nine great-grandchildren: Blakely, Pierce, Pryce, Pate, Beckett, Hendryx, Lincoln, Sean, and Hadleigh and two soon to be’s, numerous family and friends.