James Brady

James Darien Brady of Safford, Arizona passed away Wednesday, February 8th in his home. He was born November 21, 1961 in Matador, Texas to Darien and Carolyn Brady. He farmed and ran heavy equipment in King County Texas. He met his wife Sherry Brady in Lubbock, Texas, and they married on July 27, 1985 on Reese Air Force Base. They lived in Dumont, Texas where James farmed and Sherry taught school in King and Childress counties. James left King County for Safford where he was employed by Freeport-McMoran. He rose to general foreman, and then left to work at KinderMorgan (formerly El Paso Gas) in the fall of 2007. James did not like working at a desk so riding to different gas locations and working outside suited him perfectly. One of James’ favorite activities was riding in the desert on his Polaris Ranger. Every Sunday he and Sherry would go out riding, often stopping in Roper Lake State Park to ride around the lake and then parking to look over the lake. When their grandsons came from El Paso, they would all ride in the Ranger to get bags of candy from Dollar General. Beside driving the Ranger in the desert, James loved mowing the lawn in his bigger toy; his Hustler Raptor SD. It also was big enough to take each grandson for a ride. The grass hardly grew between times that James was out there on the Hustler mowing the lawn. James was also skilled at leatherwork, and in the last couple of years was able to make friends and family belts, billfolds, purses, bracelets and even gun and knife holsters. He loved it on days he was working with leather, and Sherry would be quilting. It killed him when his eyesight worsened. He was a perfectionist with his leather work, and didn’t feel he could sell something that was good enough. The last thing he made was a belt for Sherry to see if he had his skills back well enough to go back into business. James is survived by his wife of 37 and a half years, Sherry Brady; their two daughters, Candace Brady and Alyssa Herrmann and her fiancé Stormy Howard; their grandsons River and Colt Herrmann; his mother and step-dad, Carolyn and Alton Willis; his brother and sister-in-law, Stephen and Kendra Brady; his nephews Bryce and Blayne Brady and his niece, Breann Brady. A viewing will be held Monday, February 13th from 5:00-7:00 P.M. at McDougal’s Caldwell Funeral Home. After his service and burial back in Texas, there will be a memorial service on Saturday, February 25th at 11:00 a.m. at First United Methodist Church in Safford. Click this link to view additional details about James's Services, including any available live streams: https://my.gather.app/remember/james-brady-2023 Services are under the direction of McDougal's Caldwell Funeral Chapel and Crematory. Online condolences may be extended at www.caldwellfuneralchapel.com/obituaries/