John P. ‘Jack’ Brady, esteemed attorney
John P. “Jack” Brady, 94, passed away peacefully in Seasons Hospice at Wilmington Hospital Monday, July 26, 2021, nine days before his 95th birthday. Jack was born Aug. 4, 1926, and grew up on Lancaster Avenue in Union Park Gardens, where his family was the original Brady Bunch, with three boys and three girls in the household. He graduated from Salesianum School in 1944 and immediately enlisted in the U.S. Navy, ultimately earning his wings as a naval aviator and serving until 1947.
Upon returning home, Jack worked in the accounting department at the General Motors plant on Boxwood Road, and acted with the Wilmington Drama League and Catholic Television Guild. He graduated from LaSalle College in Philadelphia in 1955. That same year, he married Claire L. Whelan of Springfield, Pa., and entered the newly opened Villanova Law School. In 1958, he was part of the school’s third graduating class, and was its first graduate from Delaware and first graduate to pass the Delaware Bar Exam. Jack was admitted to the Delaware Bar in January 1959, served as register of wills for New Castle County and judge of the former Orphans’ Court from 1961 until January 1967, then as an assistant United States Attorney for Delaware, until being appointed secretary and resident counsel of Wilmington Savings Fund Society in 1968.
During his time there, WSFS was at the forefront of banking innovation, introducing ATMs to Delaware in the early 1970s and popularizing debit cards and customer cash back purchase incentives with the WSFS Plan Card. He remained with WSFS until taking early retirement in 1984. However, after quickly becoming bored with retirement, he served as a deputy attorney general for a year, then as a staff attorney with Community Legal Aid Society Inc., where he represented clients in landlord-tenant matters for nearly a quarter-century. He retired as CLASI’s senior attorney in December, 2009 at the age of 83, having worked 50 full years at the Bar.
Jack absolutely loved the law and especially enjoyed prevailing over slum landlords and their representatives. He was universally respected and admired by Delaware judges and attorneys throughout his long legal career, culminating in his being awarded the Outstanding Service to the Courts and Bar Award by the Delaware State Bar Association in 2006.
Jack was a gifted and witty storyteller and speaker who was immensely proud of his Irish heritage and Wilmington upbringing. He loved spending time with his children and grandchildren, with whom he vacationed in Ocean City, N.J., for a number of years. He also greatly enjoyed the many meals he shared with his siblings and in-laws at Mrs. Robino’s and other area restaurants.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 39 years, Claire W. Brady, who passed away in 1994; grandson, David F. Brady; parents, Francis A. and Nell (Mealy) Brady; sisters, Eleanor M. Morrison and Mary A. Lemon; and brothers, Joseph H. Brady and Francis A. Brady Jr.
He is survived by his four children: John F. Brady of Lewes (Julian Zuluaga Castaño), James M. Brady of Kemblesville, Pa. (fiancée Lisa Grillo), Nancy B. Miller of Nottingham, Pa. (John), and William P. Brady of Newark (Deborah); six grandchildren, Erin, Ryan, James, Claire, Patrick and Sean; sister, Margaret Brady (Sister Mary Ellen, OP); sister-in-law, Jeanne Brady; and a multitude of nieces and nephews.
Jack lived a long and rewarding life, and will be dearly missed by his family and friends. For more information on his extraordinary life, please visit www.delawarefuneral.com.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Joseph’s on the Brandywine RC Church, 10 Old Church Road, Greenville, Wednesday, Aug. 4, at 10:30 a.m. Friends may call Tuesday evening, Aug. 3, between 5 and 8 p.m., at Krienen-Griffith Funeral Home, 1400 Kirkwood Highway, Elsmere. Burial will follow Mass at Cathedral Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Salesianum School (salesianumschool.org) or the Delaware Bar Foundation (delawarebarfoundation.org).
