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Bradley Robertson, 80, of Bottineau, died Tuesday, July 27, 2010, at a Bottineau hospital.

Bradley Ferden Robertson, a son of Paul and Orena (Kavli) Robertson, was born July 1, 1930, in Bottineau, N.D. Bradley attended school at Dalen Township through eighth grade. He joined the Air Force at the age of 16 in 1947.

He married Mabel White on Sept. 5, 1953. They raised three children while serving in the military, at Ernest Harmon Air Force Base in Stephenville, Newfoundland, Calif., at the U.S. Air Base in Greenville, S.C., and Hunter Air Force Base at Savannah, Ga. He served 20 years in the Air Force as a Technical Sergeant Flight Engineer and was stationed at more than 50 Air Force bases covering every continent in the world and was highly decorated for his service.

One of his fondest memories was his 1955-56 tour of duty to Antarctica "Operation Deep Freeze," in which a permanent research station was established and paved the way for more exhaustive research in later Deep Freeze operations. When returning from his tour of duty, his plane loaded the first penguins to be brought to the United States and they were delivered to the St. Louis Zoo. He was also proud to have transported one of the Apollo Space Mission capsules to Cape Canaveral for its journey into space.

Bradley served in the Korean War and Vietnam War. He retired from the military on March 1, 1967.

Following retirement from the Air Force, Brad became co-owner of a Texaco service station until the spring of 1968, returning to Bottineau to attend North Dakota School of Forestry, receiving a degree in business administration, graduating with high honors. He became employed as office manager of Wold Engineering in 1970, retiring in 1990.

He was active in the Bottineau Toastmasters in which his favorite topic was his travels while in the Air Force. He was elected commander of the Bottineau VFW in 1976, serving for two years through 1978, and was a member of the "All-State Team" Post Commanders in 1977-78.

He enjoyed his years of retirement with Mabel and his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, gardening, grilling, hunting and fishing. Bradley lived his life with a strong Christian faith as a very proud and loyal American citizen, a very loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

Bradley is survived by: his wife, Mabel (White) Robertson; children, Bradley N. Robertson (Marcia), Dotty Hosmer (John), and Paul Robertson, all of Bottineau; grandchildren Jason Robertson (Anika) of Bottineau, Kristi Streyle (Roscoe) of Minot, Ryan Kersten (Katherine) of Bottineau, Scott Robertson, of Bottineau, Jacob Robertson, of Dickinson; great-grandchildren Kadyn, Gavin and Emersyn Robertson, of Bottineau, Kiera Biberdorf and Ellie Jo Streyle, of Minot, and Peyton Robertson, of Bottineau; his sisters Adeline Forsberg, of Minot, Janet (Jim) Hunt, of Devils Lake, Joyce (Ben) Borgen, of Rochester, Minn.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Preceding Bradley into eternity were his parents, Paul and Orena Robertson; sister, Pearl Milbrath; his brothers-in-law, Larry Forsberg and William Spriggs; and numerous aunts and uncles.

Funeral: Today, July 30, at 10 a.m., in the Lake Metigoshe Christian Center, near Bottineau.

Burial: North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, in Mandan.

Memorials: In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to St. Andrew's Hospital in Bottineau.

Arrangements are with Nero Funeral Home in Bottineau. Friends may sign the online register at (www.nerofuneralhome.net).