About Brady James Gleason
Our lives were forever changed on Monday November 26, 2009. Brady was barely fifteen years old when he left us. Suddenly he was gone from our lives and there was nothing we could do to fix it.
Brady was bright and athletic with a quick wit and a ready smile. Always mature for his age, Brady was polite and went out of his way to help people.
Brady was the inquisitive kid with his hand in the air wanting to participate in school. Teachers loved him. As a student he was teased for being the “smart kid.” He never retaliated.
Brady was the kid helping the coaches pick up baseball and football equipment after practice and games. He didn’t expect anything from it, he just did it because it was the right thing to do.
Brady was a talented wrestler, but he never appreciated how good he was. Quick and athletic, he was able to compete among the best in the state.
In the last two or three years of his life, Brady’s confidence began to wane and he withdrew in small degrees. What we thought was teen angst as Brady grew more and more quiet, we now realize was something very different. While Brady was outwardly smiling and polite, he was courageously battling depression and anxiety inside.
This poem has been a great help to us.
Little I knew that morning,
God was going to call your name,
in life we loved you dearly,
in death we do the same.
It broke our hearts to lose you,
you did not go alone,
for part of me went with you,
the day God called you home.
You left us beautiful memories,
your love is still our guide,
and though we cannot see you,
you are always by our side.
Our family chain is broken,
and nothing seems the same,
but as God calls us one by one,
the chain will link again.
Brady, we Love You and Miss You. We look forward to being together again someday.
We are very thankful that the SAVE organization was there to help us understand what had happened. Its mission to educate people about brain chemistry, depression and mental illness is very important for preventing suicide and helping families, especially during those first devastating days following the loss of a loved one to suicide.
