Joe J. Brady & Catherine Brady

Joe and Catherine Brady founded Brady Nursery in 1952 and were joined in the business by five of their seven children. They developed a 50-acre nursery containing over 150 varieties, including 30 varieties of crab-apple trees. Joseph J. Brady, a World War II Navy veteran and a leader in the horticultural industry in Wichita. Joe graduated from Kansas State University in 1950 and was the first nurseryman in the Wichita area to have a degree in horticulture. He was a lifelong member of the KSU Alumni Association. His tireless effort helped secure the KSU-John C. Pair Horticulture Research Center for Wichita. Joe helped introduce many tree selections to Sedgwick County, including: Japanese Tree Lilac, Lacebark Elm, and American Yellowwood. Mr. Brady was a past president of the KS Association of Nurserymen and for 25 years was a host of the popular “Gard’N’Wise” Show, a local TV gardening show. Joe passed away March 11, 2007.

Catherine Brady balanced raising a big family with providing support to the family business. To this day she is involved in the family business. Mrs. Brady is a Sacred Heart College Alumni from 1944 and received the St. Maria de Mattias Award in 2009 for her life-long commitment to Sacred Heart/Newman University.