Bradley (Brad) James Schramm of Columbia, MO, passed away Wednesday, December 17, 2025, at the Columbia Manor Care. He was 74 years old.

Brad was born on May 6, 1951, in Lansing, Michigan, the son of Walter (Wally) and Helen Juanita (Neet) (née: Nelson) Schramm. The family soon moved to Kansas for Wally's work for several years before relocating to Centralia, MO.

As a child, Brad was a bright boy. He excelled at and enjoyed playing basketball and starred as a skilled guard on the Centralia High School varsity basketball team. He achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in the local boy scout troop and loved his time exploring at the Philmont High Adventure Base. Brad graduated as the Valedictorian of his high school class and received a full academic scholarship to Dartmouth College.

As a young man, Brad enjoyed hiking, walking, and mountaineering. He summited Mount Rainer in Washington and climbed High Dome in Yosemite National Park. He loved good music, and his record collection endures, containing the beautiful works of Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, and Cat Stevens. He was an avid reader and enjoyed such notable authors as Hermann Hesse, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Jack Kerouac.

Then, Brad was diagnosed with schizophrenia. As the intelligent man that he was, he investigated his illness, sought for clarity and truth, and on several occasions published both his thoughts and his conversations on mental illness with notable figures such as the doctor and author Mark Vonnegut, son of Kurt Vonnegut. His openness and curiosity were a noble response to such a dire illness.

As an older man, Brad was quiet, reserved, and kept to the simple pleasures of his life – reading the newspaper, smoking cigarettes, and speaking with his siblings on the phone.

Brad passed away peacefully in his sleep and his soul now returns to his Creator, to be reunited with his loved ones that passed before him.

He will be interred in perpetuity with his parents, Wally and Neet, and brother, Tom, in Glendale Memorial Gardens in Centralia at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to any local non-profit that supports those in the community that are most in need*.

Brad is survived by his sisters Linda Gowdy of Clemson, SC, and Elly Hollinshead of Kirkwood, MO, and their extended families. He will be greatly missed.

* 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.' – Matthew 25:40