ABLESON, Captain Bradford Edward, Chaplain Corps, US Navy. The Rev. Dr. Bradford E. Ableson, an Episcopal priest and former Command Chaplain of the U. S. Strategic Command, died Feb. 17th following a courageous battle with cancer. Father Ableson, a native of Tulsa, Okla., was 50 at the time of his death. A member of the Yale Divinity School class of 1985, he subsequently received a doctor of ministry degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in 1999. At Yale he received the Mersick Prize for public speaking and at Columbia he was awarded the Sanders Prize for theological scholarship as well as the first-ever Telford Award for social justice. In 2007 Yale instituted the Bradford E. Ableson Prize for Ecclesiastical Leadership to recognize the Divinity School graduate possessing the qualities of judgment and character for the future exercise of ecclesiastical leadership. In 2008 Brad was named a distinguished alumnus of Yale, receiving the prestigious Lux et Veritas award. In 1984 Brad was commissioned in the Navys theological student program and served as a Naval reservist as a divinity student. Following ordination in 1985 and two years of pastoral ministry in Tulsa, Okla., he was recalled to active duty in 1987. Chaplain Ableson served a distinguished 25-year naval career with extensive time in the fleet including ministry in surface ships, submarines, and aviation units. He provided combat ministry with Marines during the first Gulf War and subsequently served as a Group Chaplain in the Third Marine Aircraft Wing. In 1996 he assumed Presidential Service duties as the chaplain at Camp David, Maryland during the Clinton administration. Later, after serving as an executive to the Chief of Navy Chaplains, he attended the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island where he graduated with distinction. In 2002 he reported to aircraft carrier USS George Washington, on which he served as senior chaplain on two combat cruises during the Global War on Terror. In 2004 he was promoted to the rank of Navy captain and assumed responsibilities as Command Chaplain of the U.S. Strategic Command where he served as special advisor on matters of religion at the strategic level. While at the Strategic Command, Father Ableson was named Priest-in-Residence at Trinity Episcopal Cathedrala position he held until his death. In 1986 Brad married Julia Ableson, his wife throughout every day of his active duty naval service and in 22 years of marriage. Brad was predeceased by his grandmother, Augusta Langford Davis; father, Winston Ableson; and namesake uncle, Paul Edward Davis. He is survived by his wife, Julia; his mother, Juanise Ableson Stockdale; sisters: Ann Harper, Janie Ableson and Pam Johnson; nieces, Kasey Johnson Woods and Lee Harper Jones; nephews, Jonathan Edward Harper and Joseph Ableson Johnson; and great-niece, Harper Anna Jones. Also surviving are his grandchildren, Julia Tevis Hillis and Robert Foster Hillis; and Julia Polly Hillis and William B.N. Lee. The family will receive friends Friday, 6:00-8:00 p.m. at the West Center Chapel. MEMORIAL SERVICE Saturday, 12:00 noon, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 113 N. 18 St. GRAVESIDE SERVICE Tuesday, Feb. 24th, 9:00 a.m. at Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa, OK. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to The Bradford E. Ableson Scholarship Fund, c/o Yale Divinity School Development Office, 409 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511.
HEAFEY-HEAFEY-HOFFMANN-DWORAK-CUTLER WEST CENTER CHAPEL 78th & West Center 391-3900
Sign Guestbook