Anita Louise Carroll Bradford was born November 1, 1933 to Eugene J. Carroll and Kathleen Ryden Carroll. Anita’s parents fostered values of strength, resiliency, education, activism, and morality in their children, traits that defined her character throughout her life.

Anita was active in her community from early childhood. In high school she participated in athletics, school news reporting, and student government. After high school graduation, Anita attended East Los Angeles Junior College where her efforts in human rights advocacy and community activism increased. Her passion followed her to Brigham Young University her sophomore year, where she stood boldly as the only female in the History Department until receiving her degree in American History and Political Science.

Anita began working as a school teacher at Spanish Fork Junior High, during which time she became acquainted with Allen Bradford, who became her greatest supporter and eternal companion on June 7, 1956 when they were married and sealed for time and all eternity in the Los Angeles, California temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They were blessed with five children. As a mother, Anita taught her children to cherish and defend their rights and privileges, dutifully demonstrating the power of free speech at each and every baseball game. She encouraged them to exercise charity, give selflessly, think deeply, form opinions, and work diligently to accomplish their goals.

Juggling four children, Anita embarked upon her post-graduate studies at Brigham Young University in the early 1970s. During her time as a graduate student, Anita and a small group of colleagues organized a nonprofit dedicated to providing free counsel, education, and support to women in distress, which operated out of a small store front office in Provo, Utah. With her youngest child in tow, Anita and her colleagues dedicated countless hours talking to and counseling with battered women. From this came The Utah Center for Women and Children in Crisis, a non-profit still serving the women of children in Utah today.

In the late 1970s, Anita welcomed the challenge of creating a program in conjunction with Utah Technical College, later to become Utah Valley University, which aimed to prepare women to become proficient providers in non-traditional fields and to advocate for workplace equality. The service known then as Better Jobs for Women influenced thousands of women and continues to operate today as the Turning Point Program.

In addition to her work with Better Jobs for Women, Anita worked as a history professor at Utah Valley University and volunteered her time as a gospel doctrine teacher for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for over 35 years.

In recognition of a life lived as a bold defender of human rights, Anita was honored for outstanding service to single parents and displaced homemakers in Utah.In later life, Anita lead a state-wide support group for individuals who shared her diagnosis of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. She was an avid reader, learner, traveler, conversationalist, book club attendee, lover of British comedy, television critic, and friend to all.

Anita possessed a remarkable ability to see depth of character and capacity for greatness in everyone around her and a persistent drive to share that vision. Anita was fearless and brilliant by nature, continually inspiring change in all the best ways possible. She shed light on issues others ignored, and she fought for the things she believed in.

After her long battle with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, Anita Louise Bradford Carroll passed away in her home on November 30, 2020 surrounded by family. She is preceded in death by her parents, Kathleen Ryden Carroll and Eugene J. Carroll, older brother, Eugene Carroll, and son, Adam Bradford. She is survived by her husband of 64 years, S. Allen Bradford, children Joel Bradford (Mari), Gene Bradford (Lori), Dan Bradford (Kerri), and Kathleen Bradford Millington (Quinn) as well as her 12 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

Anita was loved and respected by all who knew her. She left the world a better place than she found it. She will be missed.

We invite friends and loved ones to join the family in a celebration of life which will be held via Webex on Friday, December 4, 2020 from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Click on the link in the Service Details tab at the top of this obituary to join Webex.