By Barbara (Hartley) Goodrich
His name was Wayne Brady – and he was not her father.
Earl “Wayne” Brady was born in October of 1898 in Richmond, Missouri. His father, William was 29 and his mother, Etta, was 23. He had one older brother (Charles), and after he was born, four more siblings followed: Tillie, Oran, Dick, and John. Wayne’s family moved from Missouri to Kansas. Later, he moved to Walsenburg, Colorado where he met and married Zella Novella Vaughn on December 15, 1920. Walsenburg, Colorado is a small coal mining town where Zella was raised, and Wayne had found work in the mines. Wayne and Zella planned on starting their family, but tragically, Zella had an ectopic pregnancy which resulted in a full hysterectomy. They would never have children of their own.
Kathleen Penelope Riley was born in July 1949 to Curtis and Gay (Vaughn) Riley. Gay is Zella’s baby sister, so Wayne is Kate’s uncle by marriage. Kate was a surprise birth, 14 and 16 years younger than her older sisters. Her father nicknamed her “Katydid”. Curtis, had done very well for himself by the time Kate came along. He had gone to school for engineering. He was a creative and inventive mind, inventing anything from a better golf putter to a home surround sound system (in 1949), to a lightweight aluminum camera – the Rilex. But his father was a realist. He told Curt he would only pay for college if he also went to school for business. The world only needs engineers in times of war. Curtis and Gay met while in college. She wanted to be a judge! But the Dean of the college told her she “shouldn’t worry her pretty little head with things like that”, so she settled on Court Reporting. Boy, could she type! She won awards for speed typing and landed a job as a secretary in an office where she worked with a lovely lady named Norma Jeane Mortenson (AKA Marilyn Monroe). Gay and Curt wanted to marry, but in those days, once a woman was married, she had to stop working and set up house. So, they eloped; married under assumed names; and continued to work and save. By the time Gay got pregnant in 1934, it was time to stay at home, and they settled in Denver, Colorado. Curtis found work in accounting with his father’s business, and milking cows as a side gig to support his growing family of two daughters. Finally in 1945, Curtis landed a job in Burbank, California with Lockheed Aircraft. He was astounded at the price of a house in Van Nuys ($12,000)! But they settled into life in California. Curtis did quite well at Lockheed and eventually they bought a home in Rolling Hills. Kathleen came to the family in 1949 and was raised in Rolling Hills on their small acreage where she enjoyed horseback riding and keeping chickens. Curt and Gay were excited for retirement and planned on buying a RV to travel the U.S., leaving Kate in charge of the “ranch”. However, in the summer 1969, Curt was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and he passed away by December of that year. Kathleen was 20 years old.
The following year, she met a handsome young landscaper (who had a bunch of horses) – it was love at first sight! They were engaged before the end of 1970 with a wedding date set: April 17, 1971. Without Curt, Gay’s finances were uncertain. She had never planned a wedding without her other half. Who was going to walk Katydid down the aisle? Enter Wayne Brady. Gay and her sister Zella were very close, so Wayne was an obvious choice. They had moved to Apple Valley, California by this time and been in close contact with Gay and Kate. Wayne was honored, of course, but very nervous! He had not planned on walking anyone down the aisle. They rehearsed and rehearsed. When the preacher asked “Who gives this woman to be with this man?” the answer was not “her mother & I do” or “I do”; that would be for her father to say. “I do, for her mother” was the line.
The day of the wedding came. Wayne was nervous. You might see from the picture, his mind working on the line. All eyes on him as he walked he beautiful niece down the aisle – excitement in her face. His moment came – “Who gives this woman to be with this man?” … “I do oh, uh… her mother and I… well… oh hell, take her!”
He was my grandpa. I didn’t get to meet either of my biological grandpas – he was it. I would walk to his house and he loved to host me. Read books, tea parties, the best snacks. Wayne passed peacefully in his sleep in 1979. He was 81. We loved him dearly.
