Manistee, Michigan - Barbara Jean Bradford, formerly of Traverse City, MI, Lansing, MI, and Port Townsend, WA, was born in Detroit on Dec. 8, 1943, and passed away peacefully at the Manistee County Medical Care Facility on Nov. 4, 2023. She suffered briefly due to complications from a bad fall.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Raymond and Eleanor (Ritter) Bradford, formerly of Traverse City and Bear Lake, MI; and younger brother, Bill Bradford, formerly of Port Townsend, WA.

Barb is survived by husband, Kevin Mallison of Manistee, MI; brother, James (Judy) Bradford of Bryan, TX; sister, Tacy (Mark) Tolosa of Houghton Lake, MI; and sister-in-law, Kathy Rand of Reno, NV. She is also survived by nephews, James and John Bradford; nieces, Bethany Henry and Tamah Entz, their spouses and children, and her loving dog, Buddy Bradford.

She graduated from Traverse City Central High School and Michigan State University with bachelor's and master's degrees. After graduation she spent most of her working career with the State of Michigan Department of Social Services.

Among Barb's numerous civic involvements and volunteer work, she served two terms as Ingham County, MI, and two terms as Jefferson County, WA, Republican Committee chair. She was an avid gardener and spent much of this past summer working outside and identifying her many botanical "children". She also loved art, and had many of her paintings hanging in her home. Genealogy was another major pastime, and she enjoyed researching the ancestors of her relatives and friends.

Visitors will be received at noon on Thursday, November 9, 2023, at the Bear Lake United Methodist Church, followed by a funeral service at 1:00 p.m. at the Church. The Rev. Mark Tolosa will officiate. Arrangements have been entrusted to Oak Grove Funeral Home of Manistee.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Bear Lake Historical Museum to support her interest in genealogy, or to the Manistee Vogue Theatre to honor her maternal grandfather, James C. Ritter, a well-known and influential Detroit theater owner during the heyday of the motion picture industry.