Allen R. Brady

Allen Roy Brady, 91, died quietly of natural causes on November 7, 2024 in Holland, Michigan. Born in Houston, Texas, on February 7, 1933, he was the youngest of three children born to Frank and Elizabeth (née Lucas) Brady. He was raised in the historic Christ Episcopal Church of Houston, Texas, where, as a young man, he served as an acolyte. He graduated from the University of Houston with a bachelor’s degree in 1955, and then served in the U.S. Army for two years. While stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, he met Sara Louise Choplin, a student at Kansas State University, and they married in August, 1958. Within four years, they were joined by two sons, Michael and Kevin. Allen earned a master’s degree at the University of Houston, then went on to Harvard University to complete a doctorate in 1964.

He developed areas of special expertise in invertebrate zoology, systematics and evolution, but he became especially well-known as a leading expert on the arachnids: spiders. After a brief stint as a teaching intern at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, he taught at Albion College, then returned to Hope as an Assistant Professor of Biology. In 1965-66, the Brady family were joined by daughters Melinda and Jennifer. Allen progressed through the academic ranks to Professor in 1972, serving as Department Chair from 1981-84. All told, he served as a Professor of Biology at Hope College for nearly fifty years.

As a teacher, Allen was passionate about involving students in scientific work. In field work and the laboratory, he directed students to hands-on, learning experiences, conducting annual, spring trips to the fields, woods, and swamplands of Florida. Equipped with sweep nets, headlamps, and collection vials, his research took him throughout the United States, as well as to Mexico, Australia, Trinidad, and Costa Rica. In 1975, he embarked on an ambitious project of identifying more than 50,000, as-yet unclassified, preserved specimens from various large museum collections, including those at the Museum of Natural History in New York and at the University of Florida.

In 1988, his former student, Dr. Robert Wolff, named a new species of spider, Cyclocosmia bradya, in his honor. Allen served as president of the American Arachnological Society and received awards from the National Science Foundation and other external agencies in support of his research. After the release of the popular film “Arachnophobia” in 1990, he was called upon to educate the general public about spiders in newspapers and on radio talk shows around the country.

Allen continued to conduct research well after his official retirement in 2000. He maintained a laboratory at Hope College and mentored students. One of his most meaningful collaborations came with his student, Lauren Fogg, who helped him prepare and deliver his last professional paper in Denver, in 2017. Allen remained an avid fan of Hope College basketball. He and Sara also took memorable post-retirement trips to Hawaii, Ireland, England, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Allen Brady was a warm, loving husband, father, and grandfather (“Papa”); devoted friend and colleague; and valued mentor to many students. He maintained his belief in the good of scientific knowledge. He believed that understanding and stewardship of the earth are fully consistent with Christian conviction. The Bradys were lifetime members of the First Presbyterian Church of Holland.

Allen Brady was preceded in death by his wife, Sara Louise Brady, in 2023; his parents, Frank and Elizabeth Brady; his sister Betty Jo Heydt and his brother Frank. He is survived by his son Michael of Holland, Michigan; Kevin (Jennifer Redmann) of Lancaster, Pennsylvania; Melinda Brady-Osborne of Madison, Wisconsin; Jennifer Brady-Johnson (Robert Johnson) of Medina, Minnesota; and four grandchildren, Emma, Colin, and Nicholas Johnson, and Adam Osborne.

The family will schedule a Remembrance of Life gathering at Dykstra Funeral Home (Northwood Chapel on Douglas Avenue) sometime in spring 2025.