James Bradley Raper battled a rare blood cancer called polycythemia vera that was found August 2016 and recently changed to acute myeloid leukemia.  He lost his battle with cancer and passed away at the age of 58 on Friday, October 14, 2022 in his home.  He was born December 2, 1963 in Springfield, Missouri.

He married Stacy on March 30, 1991 in Republic, Missouri and they shared 31 years together.  They bought a home in Springfield and remodeled it to their liking and Brad would work on his man cave with a motorcycle theme décor.  He also loved gardening and would search seed magazines and talk with family and friends about what he planned to plant.  Brad and his Dad were both notorious for giving nicknames to many friends, family members and even some pets.  Many knew Brad as "Smedley".

Brad loved motorcycles (anything racing), family and friends, blues music, gardening, animals, the game show Jeopardy and The Andy Griffin show.  He lived life to the fullest and continued to hope for a cure and miracle.

He is survived by his wife, Stacy Raper; mother and step-father, Beverly Cox and Johnny; sister, Missy; brother Charlie; step-brother, Huey and step-sister, Felicia; aunt, Donna Freeman; cousins, Shelly and Sarah; uncle and his wife, Jimmy and Nancy Copeland; aunt, Karen White and cousin, Mike White; step-mom, Susan Raper and aunt, Maryan; cousin, Tom and his wife, Kim, mother-in-law, Jody Davis and brothers-in-law, Brent and Tony and many more wonderful loving family members and our loving dogs, Casey and Wiley the Coyote.

Brad was preceded in death by his dad, Charlie Raper; grandfather, James Raper; grandmother, Vera Whittington; maternal grandparents, Francis and Bessie Copeland; uncle, Butch Freeman and other family members including our fur babies, Axl, Isabelle, Jackfrost and Clyde.

We have many friends to thank for offering support during a difficult time and want to also thank our providers, nurses, support staff at Hulston Cancer Building and Cox Health at Home.  Stacy wants to thank the Lakeland Behavioral Health Team for ongoing support during such a difficult time.

Graveside services will be Friday, October 21, 2022 at 1:00 PM in Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Clever, Missouri under the care of Gorman Scharpf Funeral Home.  Visitation will be Thursday, October 20, 2022 from 4-7PM in the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers since Brad is not really a flower type person, but did love to plant them when he was a landscaper would prefer that donations be made to support organizations such as Shelly Sachs Foundation, Rescue 1, Blues Society of the Ozarks, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society or donate to a local blood bank.