BRADFIELD, Alicia (Pat)

Arizona Daily Sun, Flagstaff, Arizona, Sunday, June 30, 2013 ALICIA HALL BRADFIELD August 25, 1923 – May 22, 2013 Alicia, better known as Pat to her friends, passed away peacefully at the age of 89 in Walnut Creek California. She resided in Flagstaff for 33 years, leaving in June 2011 to be near her family in California. Pat was born in Ray Arizona to Henry Seligson Hall and Jesusita Sotelo Hall. She graduated from Needles High School in 1941 where she was the year book editor and a national delegate to Girls Town. She was attending College of the Pacific in Stockton California when WWII broke out. She was the last surviving member of a sibling group of three brothers and four sisters, of whom Mary and Netta were regular visitors to her home in Fort Valley. She is survived by two daughters, Susan Keenan (husband Mark) of Monterey CA, Mary Ruddell (husband Don) of Concord, CA and son, Michael Bradfield (wife Patti) of Austin TX, seven grandchildren and three great grandchildren. She met and married the love of her life, Ray, in Stockton, California and traveled extensively with him throughout the U.S. and overseas during his 35 year career in construction management. Assignments with Bechtel Corporation took them to Papua New Guinea, Australia, Canada and Saudi Arabia. They were a team in every sense of the word. Pat lived in jungles, deserts, and near the arctic circle, supporting and witnessing Ray transform their unusual destinations into towns, cities, mega seaports and vast mining operations to bring natural resources to a world market. Their overseas assignments also afforded them the opportunity to visit most of Europe and many locations in Asia. Pat returned to the United States in 1978 following Ray’s death determined to live in the Flagstaff home they designed for their retirement. While it was still a dream, they called it Holliberri and that name became synonymous with Pat and her love for the home and surrounding land nestled against the national forest with its awesome view of the San Francisco Peaks. She lived there alone but quietly felt Ray’s spirit. Her home was a focal point for her family who looked forward to their times together with her at Christmas, her birthday and special occasions, marveling at the seasonal views of the Peaks from the decks of Holliberri. Pat’s home was also the scene of many hosted bridge parties and cross country skiing get togethers. As she settled into her life in Flagstaff, she turned her energy to community support, becoming a docent at Northern Arizona Museum and a trained volunteer preserving and protecting Native American ancestral sites for the U.S. Forestry Service. She also participated in archeological digs and once canoed a stretch of the Green River. An avid crossword puzzler, fiction reader and consummate letter writer, she took on a number of assignments teaching adults to read as a volunteer for Adult Literacy in Flagstaff. In 2009, she was recognized as Woman of the Year by the Flagstaff Symphony Guild for her many years of support to that organization. Her travels did not end with her arrival in Flagstaff. With her sister Netta, she toured India and Nepal, Russia, England and Ireland. She traversed a very stormy Atlantic with her sister Mary on the QE2. She encouraged each of her grandchildren to take a trip or cruise with her outside of the U.S. and underwrote education for her children and grandchildren. Her love, generosity, support and enthusiastic interest in her family’s activities knew no bounds. In the eyes of her family, Pat’s life in Flagstaff would not have been as fulfilling and sustaining for her without her relationships with her many friends and neighbors who in their respective way helped create a rich tapestry to her life. She was always sharing anecdotes with us about her friends, particularly her bridge groups, and neighbors, their families and their many kindnesses. Her family wishes to thank everyone for what they meant to our mother, which is why it is easy to understand that she remained so attached to Flagstaff until the end of her life. A private family service and internment of her ashes beside her husband will be held at the Stockton Rural Cemetery on August 30, 2013. In lieu of flowers, a donation to the American Diabetes Association is suggested. This obituary was prepared by the Advertising Department (928) 556-2279.