My Life-Long Love is Now with Jesus...
- Mar 24
- 3 min read
March 7, 2026, my husband celebrated his 88th birthday. He was failing, but he enjoyed his birthday. From then on, he lost ground rapidly each day. A week later, he passed peacefully at 9:30 PM.
His first stroke was 11 years ago. He had 4 strokes before they found the right blood thinner. Eventually, he developed vascular dementia, but despite confusion in some areas, he was always able to carry on personal conversations with people and was always friendly. I could talk about him forever, but this obituary is more succinct.
We will miss him terribly. I get news from someone and the first thing I want to do is tell him. Then I realize...he is gone. It's a habit I'll have to adjust to, even though I didn't want to.
Ronald John Brady, who served others with quiet humility, deep faith, and a teacher’s heart, died on March 14, 2026, at the age of 88. He was born in Chetek, Wisconsin, on March 7, 1938, and was shaped early by both hardship and faith. When Ron was in seventh grade, his father died suddenly of a heart attack, a loss that marked him deeply. In the hardship that followed, his mother returned to teaching to provide for the family, and Ron began the journey of faith that would shape the rest of his life.
As his faith deepened, Ron discovered a calling that joined two parts of who he was: ministry and teaching. He studied at Moody Bible Institute and at the University of Dubuque, where he earned a bachelor’s degree. He later earned a Master of Theology from Wheaton College and a Master of Divinity from McCormick Seminary in 1965. In 1979, he completed a Doctor of Ministry degree through Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia.
In 1965, Ron moved to Florida to begin ministry near Fort Lauderdale. Around that same time, Martha Grimm was preparing to leave for nurses’ training in Philadelphia. During a Christmas visit home, they met and soon began corresponding. What began as friendly letters grew into love as they came to know one another well. A mission trip they shared before Martha’s senior year deepened their sense that they might be meant for each other. They became engaged the Christmas before her graduation, and one month after she graduated in 1968, they were married. They were blessed with 57 years together.
Ron and Martha’s years together were shaped by devotion to one another, commitment to ministry, and the adventure of building a family across state and international lines. In 1971, they moved to Mandeville, Jamaica, where they lived for seven years. There Ron taught at a Bible college, teaching students from across the Caribbean. Many of those students went on to become pastors and church leaders. During those years, three daughters were born: Dawn, Christy, and Holly.
Over the years, Ron served churches in Miami, Florida; Tyler, Texas; and Hanna City, Illinois. He served in a quiet, humble way and cared deeply for the people in each congregation. Those who knew him experienced his kindness, intelligence, and humor, while those who heard him preach knew him as a man of conviction, insight, and deep faith.
Ron is survived by his wife, Martha Grimm Brady; his daughters and their spouses, Dawn Sparks (Steve), Christy Smith (Bryan), and Holly Welch Tucker (Mark); and by his seven grandchildren, who were his delight, Caroline, Quinn, and Milly Smith, Walker and Mia Welch, Stevie and Anabella Sparks. He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Melva Brady; and his brothers, Bob and Jerry.
“O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.”
Psalm 71:17–18 (ESV)
Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday, March 27, 2026, at Laughlin Service Funeral Home, 2320 Bob Wallace Avenue SW, Huntsville, AL. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 28, 2026, with reception following at Southwood Presbyterian Church, 1000 Carl T. Jones Drive SE, Huntsville, AL.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the PCA Ministerial Relief Fund (https://genevabenefits.org/relief-fund/give/).
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