Charles “Charlie” Bradshaw is being remembered for much more than being a standout quarterback at Wofford College and bringing the first Hardee’s restaurant to Spartanburg.
“He was an amazing father,” his son Bill Bradshaw, 60, of Greenville said. “He was the most disciplined man I ever met. He had the will to win. Looking back, I’m very thankful for the work value and ethics he lived by so hopefully I could be the same.”
Charlie Bradshaw, 86, died May 4. He was predeceased by his wife of 64 years Julia “Judy” Brewer Bradshaw who died less than three weeks earlier on April 17.
Growing up in Lake City, Florida, and later in Dublin, Georgia, Charlie Bradshaw excelled in baseball and football and attended the University of Georgia on a football scholarship.
After an injury, he transferred to Wofford where he served as student body president and quarterbacked the football team. He graduated there in 1959 and was entered into the Wofford College and South Carolina Athletic Halls of Fame.
Besides football, he also had a love of golf and baseball.
While at Wofford, he met his future wife Judy, who was a student at Converse College in Spartanburg.
“Charlie and his wife Judy have been our next-door neighbors for the past 20 years and I could think of no better role model for our three boys to be exposed to,” said Spartanburg City Councilman Jamie Fulmer. “The image of Charlie and Judy walking around the neighborhood holding hands will remain with me forever.”
While growing up, Bill Bradshaw said his parents always found time to attend his and his brother Charlie Jr.’s football games. They would also attend dance recitals of his late sister, Julia Dargan Bradshaw.
Pastor Steve Wise of Westminster Presbyterian Church said Charlie and Judy were founding members of the church in 1959.
“Always an encourager and supporter in a host of ways, he and Judy were lovely people and good friends,” Wise said.
After college is when Charlie Bradshaw went on to make his mark in the business world.
He co-founded Spartan Food Systems with the late Jerry Richardson, his former Wofford teammate and former owner of the Carolina Panthers. They opened the first Hardee’s on Kennedy Street in Spartanburg in 1961 and expanded with many other Hardee’s and Quincy’s Steak House franchises.
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After many years of growth with Hardee’s and Quincy’s Steakhouse, Spartan Foods sold to Trans World Corporation, where Charlie Bradshaw served as president and chief operating officer overseeing TWA Airlines, Hilton International Hotels, Canteen Corporation, Century 21 Real Estate and Spartan Food Systems.
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After retirement, he founded Bradshaw Investments and served on many corporate boards of directors and charitable foundations and was later inducted into the South Carolina Business Hall of Fame.
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Charlie and Judy Bradshaw also were heavily involved in philanthropy.
Troy Hanna, president and CEO of the Spartanburg County Foundation, said he worked with them through the Judy Bradshaw Childrens Foundation, “as they quietly conducted their community philanthropy that continues to significantly impact our children in Spartanburg County.
“Charlie and Judy would surprise each other at significant milestones in their lives by hosting family and community gatherings that were not focused on themselves, but rather on nonprofits in our community, where they could bring attention to the greatest needs affecting children in our community,” Hanna said.
“Judy and Charlie did so much philanthropically that will never be known. They were always curious about how to do more and to reach more, but always anonymously. They never sought recognition.”
A celebration of life will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 309 Fernwood Drive, Spartanburg. Dunbar Funeral Home & Crematory of Roebuck is handling the arrangements.
In memory of Charlie Bradshaw, memorials may be sent to the Judy Bradshaw Foundation, 424 E. Kennedy St., Spartanburg SC 29302 or Wee Kirk Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 702, Linville NC 28646.
Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.JMdunbar.com.
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