Bradley Ray Blackham

4/25/1982 ~ 2/27/2018

Bradley Ray Blackham son of David and Dianne Blackham passed away Feb. 27, 2018 at the age of 35. Brad was the beloved brother of Brett & Brittney Blackham, Emilee & John Kuchenmeister, Brigham & Belinda Blackham, Bryce & Riley Blackham and Brenden Blackham. Bradley was a loving son, brother, father and friend.
He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As a child he was very active and loved skateboarding, biking, camping, swimming, and snowboarding. He especially enjoyed Scouting and received his Eagle Scout Award at age 13. He also loved Indian lore and was part of Scouting’s Order of the Arrow. Brad loved working on projects involving leather, wood, rocks, artwork and crafts. He collected insects, jewelry, graphic t-shirts, baseball cards, stickers, pogs, antique books and coins. He had an appreciation for the variety of life and matter on earth. He loved animals. His various pets included snakes, lizards, turtles, ducks, bunnies, lambs, kittens, puppies, a guinea pig, a white rat and even a tarantula.
He enjoyed playing sports and games with his family; including Risk, Rook, Cash Flow, Wiffle Ball and Home Run Derby. Bradley graduated from High School in Spanish Fork. He also attended Wasatch Academy for a year, but acquired most of his education from the North Sanpete School System. He was athletic and loved track, cross country, basketball, baseball and Tennis. Brad and his brother Brett actually won region in tennis as a doubles team.
He was a very accomplished musician. He was adept at performing as a guitar player, bass player and singer. Brad performed in high school and college and formed several private performing groups, and instructed students in private guitar lessons. Brad was a great lyricist and musical writer. He was the bassist for the group, “Deep Fried and Sugar Coated”; which produced a record titled, “Over the Counter”. Brad wrote or co-wrote 6 of the songs in that album. Brad also wrote other songs through the years, including two for his daughter titled, “Pretty Little Girl” & “Abby Baby”. He was well-trained & talented to the point where all the other musicians had to do was tell him the style & key signature then he could give them what they wanted on Bass or Guitar. He received an Associate’s Degree from Snow College, and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Utah State University. He excelled in writing and financial calculations. He was a wonderful author and often top of his class for research compositions. He was the Finance Club President and was known for taking meticulous notes of lectures that everyone wanted, including his professors.
He married Heather Lee Tayler who was his wife for 5 years before their divorce. Later Brad met Brittany Engstrom & they became the parents of Abby Rose Engstrom. He also loved Abby’s sister Emma Grace Engstrom as his own.
Brad suffered from Schizophrenia. In his youth Bradley endured considerable mis-treatment by those who did not understand him or his illness. He dealt with his challenges by turning to unique hobbies and eventually music study & performance. As an adult, he dealt with his disability by writing in his journal every day and authoring several books. His most recent work is a poetry book titled, “The Spirit Guide”. His ability to produce something of value in the late stages of this disease is truly remarkable and inspiring. Nearly every poem in the work references peace, love, unity or forgiveness. One of the most memorable and endearing qualities Brad embodied was his ability to forgive others and feel empathy toward them; even when that was the last thing they deserved. The divine law of love was the most common phrase heard from his lips. He believed it, he lived it, and boy did he preach it. We would all do well to be a little more like Bradley Ray Blackham. “The law that none are above, Is the divine law of love” Verse 10, The Spirit Guide
At 11:11am everyday, Brad wished unconditiona1 1ove to whomever he was with. The 1’s rep1acing the L’s were his code standing for “1ove and 1ight for a11”.
We express our sincere thanks to Central Utah Counseling Center, NAMI (the National Alliance for Mentally Ill), Dr. Michael Smith, Counselor Lance Martin, Dr. Gary Cole, Mt. Pleasant Police Department & EMT’s and a special thanks to our family, friends and Mt. Pleasant 1st Ward.
Funeral Services will be held Monday March 5, 2018 at 11:11 a.m. in the Mt. Pleasant North Stake Center. Viewings will be held Sunday March 4, 2018 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. and Monday from 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. prior to services both at the Stake Center. Interment in the Moroni City Cemetery.