PROVIDENCE, UTAH: Marius Henry “Buster” (or “Bus”) Bradak, 92, died November 28, 2005 at Cache Valley Senior Living Community of causes incident to age. Born July 12, 1913 in Gebo (near Thermopolis), Wyoming, the son of Marius H. Sr. and Alice Rowbottom Bradak, he was raised there surrounded by heady influences of the waning Old West, which always retained a grip on his imagination.

As a child, he was taken to be baptized in the icy waters of Muddy Creek, near Cumberland, Wyoming, by an aunt and uncle who hadn’t informed either him or his parents. Although outraged by this incident throughout his life, he was much amused during his last years to discover that his name was still carried as a member on the rolls of his uncle’s church.

Always a hero to his family, Buster, at age 9, became a literal hero when he saved the life of a two-year-old child who had wandered on to a smoldering slack pile at Gebo. In so doing, his shoes were burned off his feet and he suffered burns of the feet and lower legs which caused problems for the rest of his life.

He spent a summer working in a hotel kitchen in the oilfields of Midwest, Wyoming, before beginning above-ground work for the Owl Creek Coal Company at Gebo in July 1929. In 1931, he graduated from high school at Superior, Wyoming, and began underground work at Blazon at age 18. Wyoming mines worked included Blazon, Star Mine, and Elko.

Parts of the depression years were spent working at Little Granite Creek mine off Hoback Canyon, where elk meat formed an important part of the diet. In February 1938, he was a participant, with his father, in the recovery efforts following the Vail Mine disaster on Deadman’s Creek, near the rim of Grey’s River Canyon.

Because of this, his grandfather’s loss of a leg in a mine accident, his father’s death in the Sunnyside, Utah mine explosion of 1945, and a number of harrowing experiences of his own, Buster didn’t like to dwell on the subject of coal mining, although it was his lifelong occupation.

To him, it was “just more pain, heartaches, and having nothing to show for it”. Utah mines worked included Rains, the Geneva Mine at Horse Canyon, Columbia, and Scofield.

He married the love of his life, Susan Alleman, July 22, 1936. They were together nearly 59 years, until her death in 1995. A long-time resident of Kemmerer, Wyoming; Rains, Price, and Bloomington, Utah; Palm Desert and Palm Springs, California, Buster had resided since September 2000 in assisted living facilities in Cache Valley.

Although he never voluntarily joined any church, Buster was raised in dual Catholic and Baptist traditions. His highest priority was always the well-being of his family. Supporting his family by his labor in the mines, he suffered black lung disease and numerous traumatic injuries, including multiple spinal fractures which finally forced his disability retirement.

His first severe injury was suffered on his first day as an underground miner, and by World War II, his back was so disabled that he was not permitted to serve in the military. He drew his last paycheck from Colombine Coal Company in February 1970. It bounced. Unlike his last employer, Buster’s word was his bond, and to him, a debt was always a sacred obligation.

He liked his wine, but was never the sort to see that it went with Brie. Through a frugal life-style, he progressed during his lifetime from miner’s shacks and cabins to a comfortable sufficiency, seeing both his sons graduate from the University of Utah College of Law. He never lost his love for the Western land where he spent his life, and, although prone to pontificate on occasion (actually, on a whole lot of occasions), he managed to inculcate in his posterity a healthy disregard for racism, extractive industries, ignorance of history, and those Republican politicians who would destroy our Western public lands heritage.

Though sometimes accused of having a low sense of humor, this was belied by the fact that a cinematic classic such as “Blazing Saddles” was known to render him almost incontinent with mirth.

Buster was proud to be a thirty-second degree Mason, a life member of Kemmerer Lodge 33, A.F. & A.M., and the United Mine Workers of America.

He was predeceased by his parents; sister, Alice Ball; wife, Susan; son, Glen Richard, and grandson, Ned Bradak.

Survived by a son Gary, Logan; grandson Benjamin Bradak, Farmington; granddaughters Christina Slaven, Madison, Tennessee, and Katherine Monk, Cathedral City, California; three great grandchildren; and best friend of nearly 75 years and much-loved brother-in-law, Norval Alleman, Pocatello.

Burial of ashes will be in Cathedral City , California. Per Buster’s wishes, there will be no services. Memorial donations to the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance are encouraged. Condolences may be sent to the family at Allen Mortuaries.