Brady Worden Obituary
Brady Peter Worden passed away peacefully at age 42 on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, after a year-long battle with cancer. He was born on February 21, 1984, in Chelsea, Michigan, to Raymond F. Worden and Emily K. Labella. He was a 2002 graduate of Father Gabriel Richard High School in Ann Arbor, where he played football, and he earned both a BS and an MS from the University of Michigan School of Engineering. Brady took enormous pride in his achievements at and affiliation with U of M and embarked on a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering there as well, left incomplete only due to his illness. A veteran, Brady served for many years as a member of the Army Reserves, including a combat deployment in Iraq. A leader by acclaim, he was well-known for supporting colleagues and helping to create a tight-knit, family atmosphere in his local Reserve unit.
Brady was well-known as someone who could make or fix anything, taking on projects until the very end of his life. (His fondness for and proficiency in pyrotechnic displays suggest that he could blow up most things as well.) This knack for making and building even caught the attention of engineering professors and classmates: he was once asked to judge a student competition instead of participating, as the quality of his work and his level of knowledge was so high. He was glad to be remembered as well through the School of Engineering’s display of an early artifact from UM’s first electrical engineering cohort which Brady discovered and donated. Politically open-minded and an independent thinker, Brady loved to talk about ideas as he threw horseshoes with friends at the Grass Lake Sportsman’s Club, which he joined in spirit if not in dues. As physically and intellectually imposing as he could be, family and close friends were familiar with his displays of an unexpectedly tender side, often seen in his unabashed love of animals, in particular the “love of his life,” rescue dog Nala, her sister Penny, and cat Shadow.
Brady is survived by his children Elizabeth, Samara, and Ulysses Worden; father Raymond Worden; sister Sarah (Jake) Roth and her children Nora, Declan, and Milly Roth, as well as a large extended family including much loved aunts, uncles, and cousins and countless friends that became like family over the course of Brady’s life. Brady was preceded in death by his beloved mother Emily Evett (1954-2019) and stepfathers Dave Meuleman (1954-2009) and Douglas Evett (1938-2012).
A memorial service will be held on June 11 at 5:30pm at North Lake United Methodist Church in Chelsea, MI. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Grass Lake Sportsman’s Club or the University of Michigan Department of Engineering.
