Obituary for Richard W. Bradee

Richard W. Bradee, a 35-year member of the National Press Club, who from 1969 until his retirement in 1992 was a one-man bureau for the Milwaukee Sentinel, died Jan. 26 in Cherry Hill, N.J. He was 85.

Born in Waukesha, Wis., Bradee was a U.S. Army veteran who earned a communications degree from Marquette University. He worked for the Milwaukee Catholic Herald and the Madison Capitol Times before joining the Sentinel and starting its Madison bureau in 1962.

He moved to Washington in 1969, set up shop in the National Press Building and "covered anybody I could find from Wisconsin: governors, bishops, troublemakers...protest marchers, lobbyists." He said during his induction into the Milwaukee Press Club Hall of Fame in 1998 that he "tried to cut through the fog in Congress...and to translate Washington-speak into language people on Mitchell Street and the rest of Wisconsin could understand." As for his career in journalism, he said he "tried to keep it straight, keep it short and, until now, keep myself out of the story."

Bradee said he "irritated politicians in a nonpartisan way. Democrats thought I was a Republican, Republicans thought I was a Democrat. I told them I was an anarchist." Former Sentinel and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter and editorial page editor Ken Roesslein said Bradee "was one of the most knowledgeable journalists I've ever known. He was journalistic poetry in motion, a dynamo." A former colleague, Jim Slocum of Dousman, Wis., said Bradee "never followed the crowd" in Washington but "ferreted out stories no other reporter could find -- stories that, when exposed the light of public scrutiny, made a difference in our community." Stuart Wilk of Brooklyn, N.Y., wrote that Bradee was a legend at the Sentinel who would file sometimes three "flawless" stories a day from Washington. "He was a master of objective, fact-laden, opinion-free reporting, respected by those he covered, appreciated by readers, and admired by all who worked with him."

After retiring he worked with troubled teens in Fairfax, Va., and was given a Youth Advocacy Award from the Northern Virginia Youth Services Coalition. His daughter, Ann Alfano, said he also taught literacy at Northern Virginia Community College. "He was really proud of that work, but he never sought recognition," she said. Bradee's sister, Alice Bradee, said he "enjoyed pointing out that he had a low membership number (in the NPC) and had a ragged, well-used card when we would have lunch at the Club."

He was preceded in death by his wife Beverly and daughter Eileen Hughes. Survivors include two daughters, a son, 10 grandchildren and a great granddaughter.