Elward Thomas Brady Jr. (September 9, 1926 – April 6, 2007), was a businessman from Houma in

Terrebonne Parish Terrebonne Parish ( ; French: ''Paroisse de Terrebonne'') is a parish located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 109,580. The parish seat is Houma. The parish was founded in 1822. Terr ...

, Louisiana, who served in the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...

from 1972 to 1976 during the first term of

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Edwin Edwards Edwin Washington Edwards (August 7, 1927 – July 12, 2021) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1965 to 1972 and as the 50th governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1980, 1984–1988, and 1992–1996 ...

. He is best remembered for his work against flooding of the

Atchafalaya River The Atchafalaya River () is a distributary of the Mississippi River and Red River of the South, Red River in south central Louisiana in the United States. It flows south, just west of the Mississippi River, and is the fifth largest river in N ...

Background

Brady was born in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

but moved with his parents to Bayou Dularge in Terrebonne Parish when he was fourteen years of age. During World War II, he served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as an airplane mechanic in the Pacific Theater of Operations. Once back in Houma, he joined Brady Engine Company, an oilfield supply firm operated by his father.

Political career

In 1971, prior to regular two-party competition, he was nominated in the Democratic

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

in 1971 to represent state House District 52, which includes part of Terrebonne Parish. In less than a year in the legislature, Brady faced the challenge of the 1973 Mississippi River floods, which weakened the Old River Control Structure of the Atchafalaya River. The situation created a threat to Morgan City, located in St. Mary Parish but within Brady's district. Each morning Brady was taken by helicopter from his home on Bayou Dularge to confer with Governor Edwards regarding the flooding. For his work in this venue Brady received the Louisiana Cross of Merit. After much politicking, he convinced Edwards of the need of a bridge at Bayou Dularge over the

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a Navigability, inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, the ...

, but even after the structure was completed, many of Brady's constituents complained that the bridge should have also extended over the Houma Navigation Canal. Brady also worked to adopt

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

boater-safety regulations, but many constituents objected to the U.S. government dictating such policy. Ultimately, those same safety guidelines were implemented. Brady worked with the

Louisiana State Police The Louisiana State Police (French: ''Police d’Etat de Louisiane'') is the state police agency of Louisiana, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state, headquartered in Baton Rouge. It falls under the authority of the Louisiana Department o ...

to investigate financial irregularities at the

Louisiana Superdome Caesars Superdome (originally Louisiana Superdome and formerly Mercedes-Benz Superdome), commonly known as the Superdome, is a domed multi-purpose stadium in the Southern United States, southern United States, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. ...

. Morris Lottinger Jr., a retired judge of the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal who served with Brady in the legislature, described his friend as "the consummate legislator. He was very serious about what he did. As far as I know, he never missed a vote unless it was absolutely necessary." Brady did not seek reelection in the first ever

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan primaries, w ...

held in Louisiana on November 1, 1975, but instead he ran unsuccessfully for the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (; ) is the upper house of Louisiana’s legislature. Senators serve four-year terms and participate in various committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate has 39 members elected from single-member districts ...

in District 21, which includes Morgan City. Fellow Democrat Anthony Guarisco Jr., an attorney and native of Morgan City, won the election. Guarisco held the seat for three terms but was unseated in 1987 by future Governor Murphy J. Foster Jr. Brady later challenged the Representative-turned-Senator Leonard J. Chabert of Chauvin in Terrebonne Parish but lost once more.

Civic activities

As the chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee of Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma, Brady was one of the few businessmen on the board. Lottinger recalls that Brady worked to bring the hospital up to "the cutting edge of medical technology." In 1981, Brady left the family engine company, but two years later founded with his son, Timothy Patrick Brady of Houma, a new company, Brady Diesel. He served on the board of Terrebonne Savings and Loan Association, First National Bankshares, and First National Bank of Houma. Socially, he was active in such groups as the Terrebonne Sportsman's League and the Houma Terrebonne Carnival Club. Brady died at the age of eighty. His parents were Elward Brady Sr. and the former Elmire Louise Kranz. In addition to his son, Brady was survived by his wife, the former Barbara Robichaux (c. 1924–2012), a daughter of Millard and Ivy Prince Robichaux and a native of

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

in St. Mary Parish. The Bradys also had a daughter, Ellie Brady Skillman of

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

, and five grandchildren. The couple is interred at Magnolia Cemetery in Houma.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brady, Elward Thomas Jr. 1926 births 2007 deaths Politicians from New Orleans People from Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Businesspeople from New Orleans United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers People from Houma, Louisiana 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature