Bradley Burney was a man of faith who trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ at age 11. On June 18, 2018, his faith was made sight when he passed away unexpectedly. His life verse was Proverbs 27:1 Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. He lived his life accordingly.

Bradley was a devoted family man. He was married to his best friend, Joanna, whom he lovingly referred to as his “Bride” for almost 27 years. He was a proud father to his son, Jacob, and daughter, Shelby. He loved being a coach in their youth sports leagues. His favorite pastime was teaching them to hunt, and he was more excited than they were when they got a deer. Many Sunday evenings you could find him at “Burney family dinner,” sitting at the head of the table eating, laughing, and visiting.

Growing up, Bradley excelled in sports. He played football, baseball, and track. He received invitations from two MLB teams to attend tryout camps. While in college ROTC, he was awarded the prestigious German Sports Badge after participating in a competition at Ft. Bliss. He graduated from Texas Christian University in 1992. He loved to travel, spend time with family, Christmas, Dr. Pepper, and watching his Horned Frogs play football. Bradley had an incredible mind for finances and enjoyed dabbling in the stock market. He was a member of Worth Baptist Church, where he was a leader in the AWANAS program for several years and had driven a bus to pick up senior citizens for church services.

Bradley began his career with the Mesquite Fire Department on March 29, 1993. He was promoted to captain on April 28, 2012. Because of his love for the job and his fire family, he never considered being a firefighter as “work.” His fellow firefighters described him as a great leader and mentor who was not willing to ask anyone to do what he was not willing to do himself. He was passionate in doing the right thing and taught others to always be kind to people. Many described him as the calm during the chaos as he methodically sized up the scene of a call. Bradley was always conscientious of his crew’s safety. He was steadfast in his beliefs, and everyone knew where he stood, as he treated everyone fairly and equally. At the station, Bradley kept his Bible on his bed and read it every evening.

Bradley received four Life Saving Awards during his career. He even performed the Heimlich on his brother-in-law and a fellow firefighter.

Bradley is missed by many, but his light still shines on in the lives he touched.