Martin J. Bradley

He was born in New Haven, CT on November 20, 1958 to George and Marion Bradley. He grew up in North Branford, CT and graduated from North Branford High School in 1977.

Marty earned a B.S. in recreation education from Lyndon State College in 1981. It was during this time that he met his beloved wife, Michelle. He later earned an Ed.D in organizational leadership from Vanderbilt University in 1994. His Vanderbilt sweatshirt was arguably his favorite piece of clothing. He would often wear it around Manchester, especially as a coach and spectator at North Little League and long-time fan of Central High School football.

He had a long and active career in higher education and spent 30 proud years as an employee of Southern New Hampshire University. He first joined SNHU in 1981 as a member of the Student Activities department. He joined the SNHU faculty in 1990 as a professor of business administration. He became a full professor of organizational leadership in 2003 and served as the Dean of the School of Business from 2004-2008.

Dr. Bradley's accomplishments at the University were many, but were highlighted by his leadership role in the development and growth of SNHU's 3-Year Degree program. He helped secure a federal grant and went on to become the program's first director. He was the lead author of the recently-published book "Saving Higher Education: the Integrated, Competency-Based Three-Year Bachelor's Degree Program, by Jossey-Bass, the leading higher education publisher in the world.

Marty's dedication to teaching, advising, and supporting his students led to formal recognition with the University's Excellence in Teaching Award in 2001. He was also named the higher education Professor of the Year in the state of NH in 2002. He was immensely proud of his contribution to the SNHU community and counts many of his former colleagues and students among his closest friends.

He was very active in youth sports programs around the city while his boys were growing up, including baseball, basketball, and football. He was a Board Member and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Manchester Community Health Center. As a management and leadership consultant at Union Hill Associates, he worked with a number of nonprofit groups on both the local and state level.

Marty especially enjoyed watching his three sons play sports and loved watching Friday night football games at Gill Stadium. He enjoyed watching Boston sports teams, bird-watching, and finding new ways to keep squirrels away from the bird-feeders. Most importantly, he was a loving husband, father, friend, and family member.

His family includes his beloved wife of 31 years, Michelle Derba Bradley; their three sons, Matthew, Michael, and Justin; his mother, Marion Doody Bradley; three brothers, George, Paul, and Kevin, and their wives; his parents in law, Eugene and Claire Derba; and many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A Celebration of Life took place on Friday, October 19, 2012 in the banquet hall of the dining center at Southern New Hampshire University, 2500 River Rd. Manchester, NH. The burial is private and will be at Pine Grove Cemetery in Manchester. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Manchester Community Health Center at www.mchc-nh.org/giving.html

Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory assisted the family with arrangements.