Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Oct 12/01) - The sentiment most deeply associated with Terry Bradley was that he was a "jolly soul."

"He was one of those principals who didn't yell at you when you were in trouble," says J.H. Sissons Grade 5 student Bree Meckling, where Bradley served as principal from 1991 to 2000.

Bradley passed away last Saturday as a result of a boating accident near his cabin on Narcisse Lake. The sadness felt by his former charges and co-workers is clearly visible by the amount of cards in his memory on display at the school.

The most common image on display recalls his favorite pastime. An avid sailor, few remember him without a captain's hat perched atop his head.

Not only good-natured, the former principal was a man who always made his point with flourish. If there happened to be a literacy contest he would be there front and centre.

Last year, in one of his final acts as principal before moving on to take the position of superintendent of commission scholaire francophone de division, Bradley challenged his students to read for one million minutes. If they did, he would spend a day conducting his official duties on the school's roof.

"He went up on the roof and spent the whole day there," recalls Grade 5 student Jill Alain. "He brought his cell phone, his desk, his chair and his laptop."

Bradley was also a strong advocate of French schools and French immersion.

"It was a real blow," says Jeff Pitre, president of the commission scholaire. "Terry was very involved with the French school (Ecole Allain St. Cyr) when it got started."

"He used to say learning a new language is using the keys to open your heart," Meckling remembers.

Details of the memorial service, scheduled for Oct. 20, had not been finalized Thursday.