So many of us experienced devastating loss last year, including one of our most generous donors, Ed Shea, who is grieving for his brother. He succumbed to COVID in New York City where he lived and worked. He was a disabled Army and Navy veteran who also taught art at Montrose Veteran Hospital. Ed has memorialized his brother by making generous gifts to the children at Bradley in his brother’s honor.
Ed’s brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 12. He struggled with it as well as depression and suicidality for many years but he was incredibly kind, gentle, and thoughtful. He became an artist to express the creative complexities of his mental health. At one point he told Ed, “Art saved my life.” It got him through many difficult times. Ed says he could always tell how his brother was feeling by his artwork. As a result, Ed understands first-hand the importance of artistic expression and its potential for healing for the children at Bradley.
So, Ed has made a generous gift of $5,000 to Bradley’s efforts to build a Creative Arts Center for the children. He has also donated his brother’s art library to inspire the Bradley budding artists, and a number of his brother’s paintings which will grace the walls of the Bradley Center and perhaps encourage the children to their own creative heights.
Ed has turned a tragic loss into a legacy of healing for children. Ed says, “He was a good brother and I miss him.”
