Tom Brady’s parents are Tom Brady Sr. and Galynn Patricia. The parents of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback have been together for over five decades.
Tom Sr. and his wife got married as far back as 1966 when they were almost 25 respectively. The senior Brady was just starting out as an insurance expert when they became man and wife and has gone on to grow his business into a large empire with offices in three major cities in America. With the proceeds of his business, the couple was able to comfortably raise their four children, and today, they are proud parents of one of the greatest NFL players of all time.
Are Tom Brady’s Parents Irish?
Fans of the NFL quarterback often wonder whether his parents are of Irish origin. However, investigations revealed that it is only his father, Thomas Brady Sr., that has Irish ancestry. It started in the Great Famine when the senior Brady’s grandparents were Irish refugees. Tom Brady Jr.’s great-uncle is listed as the foremost American prisoner of war in World War I.
Tom’s mother, Galynn Patricia, on the other hand, hails from a mixed Swedish, German, and Norwegian lineage. The only similarity in their early life is that they are both citizens of the United States of America.
Tom Brady Sr was Born on the 6th of May 1944
Born on the 6th of May 1944, Tom Brady Sr. is 79 years old. As mentioned earlier, he has his roots in Ireland but spent his formative years in the San Francisco part of the United States.
Growing up in San Francisco, Tom Brady Sr. acquired all his academic qualifications in that region. When the time came for him to go to college, the father of four chose to pitch his tent with the University of San Francisco, and after years of study, he was rewarded with a degree in sociology.
Though the names of his parents have never earned a public mention, it is common knowledge that Tom Sr. was brought up in a staunch Catholic home and has maintained the faith to date. The San Francisco native also raised his children to follow the Catholic faith.
The patriarch of the Brady family was in an interview session with The Eagle when he gave an insight into parenting methods. According to Tom Sr., it was he who instilled the spirit of competitiveness in his children, which is the reason behind the NFL player’s remarkable competitiveness in every aspect of his life.
Tom Sr. told an interesting tale of how he turned every activity in their home into completion. Normal activities like coming home from church must be accomplished in a run, and a winner must emerge, or they can just throw stones and see who would throw the farthest. This made family life really fun, he said.
Tom Brady Sr. was Once Confused about the Career Path To Follow
During his youthful days, Tom Brady Sr. was exceptionally talented in athletics. However, his athletic prowess notwithstanding, he still had aspirations of becoming a priest of the Catholic Church.
Struck between baseball and Priesthood, Tom Sr. took the decision to take both career paths head-on. He first joined the seminary to commence his priestly training, but during his seventh year as a seminarian, the Phillies of the MLB drafted him. It goes without saying that the temptation to give up the priesthood in favor of baseball was powerful for the seminarian.
Tom Brady Sr. was listening to baseball games with his bunkmate when they were caught and reprimanded by a priest. This singular incident made him realize that he would love to get married someday and raise a family. Besides, the biggest attraction was thinking of the freedom to watch all the World Series games without fear.
Thus, Brady Sr. gave up the priesthood in his seventh year and proceeded to take a bold step toward becoming an MLB star. However, despite his efforts, the former seminarian wasn’t able to make it to Major League Baseball.
He Later Channeled all his Energy Into Insurance
After he failed at baseball, Tom Brady Sr. decided to go and explore the insurance field in 1968 at the age of 24. He started in paid employment and after garnering knowledge in the industry, went ahead to launch his own Insurance company named Thomas Brady and Associates.
The firm, which was located in San Mateo, California, soon broke even and became a huge success. It focuses on business planning, estate planning, and insurance review, and currently, the firm can boast offices in New York and Boston too.
Tom Brady’s Mother is a Minnesota Native
Tom Brady Jr.’s mother, Galynn Patricia Brady, was born in the Browerville part of Minnesota in the United States of America and her birth occurred on the 4th of July 1944. An American national, the mother of four is a woman of mixed ethnicity, as earlier mentioned.
After spending a better part of her formative years in Minnesota, Galynn relocated to California, where she met the man who would become her life partner.
Nothing much has been said about Galynn’s career journey, but according to reports, she was working as a flight attendant with one American airline before she met her spouse. Reports did not specify whether she continued the work after becoming a wife and a mother.
Galynn Patricia Brady Battled Cancer at a Point in Her Life
One of the most challenging periods of Galynn Patricia Brady’s life occurred in 2016 after the mother of four was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer. Tom Brady Jr.’s mum was on her usual routine medical checks when she got the shock of her life.
According to her doctor, the cancer in her breast was growing rapidly and needed to be removed without wasting time. To fight the debilitating ailment, the doctor recommended that Galynn undergo an aggressive treatment, including chemo, radiation, and of course, surgeries.
Knowing that Galynn had a slim chance of survival, the entire Brady family rallied around their mum and wife. Brady Sr. personally went to the hospital to support his wife through her five-month-long chemo treatment, which was rather grueling.
While her entire family worried about Tom Brady’s mum and her battle against cancer, the devoted mother and wife channeled her worries to her inability to continue supporting her children.
As a mother who never missed any of her son’s matches, she feared that the restrictions of her ailment would even keep her from watching the quarterback’s subsequent matches. In the face of this challenge, Galynn resolved to beat cancer by all means.
The mother of four’s dreams came true when she was declared cancer free in April 2017 as she entered remission. She was released from the hospital around the time that Tom Jr. won Super Bowl LI, and needless to say, it was a double celebration in the Brady household. She even got a pleasant surprise from Robert Kraft, the owner of the Patriots, who gifted her with a Super Bowl ring.
Are Tom Brady’s Parents Still Married?
It may come as a surprise to many, but the parents of Tom Brady Jr. are still enjoying matrimony after over five long decades of marriage. The lovebirds first crossed paths in the later part of the 1960s when Tom Sr. was trying to establish himself in the insurance industry. It happened that his wife, Galynn was on a visit to San Mateo, California, due to her flight attendant job when they met.
Reports did not carry information about the couple’s dating period, but it is on record that they tied the connubial knot on the 19th of April 1969. Tom Sr. and Galynn, who are just one month apart in age, were just a few months shy of their 25th birthdays at the time of their nuptials. They had the NFL player on the 3rd of August 1977, eight years after their nuptials
The couple’s matrimonial journey has not been an easy one, but they were able to surmount all obstacles. They had a blast during their 52nd wedding anniversary in 2021, and today, their union is celebrated as one of the longest-standing marriages in the US.
One baffling aspect about Tom Brady’s parents is the fact that the duo has continued to live a modest life despite their son’s huge success. Tom Brady Jr. is listed as one of the highest-paid players in the NFL and can afford to gift his parents with the best of the good life.
However, Tom Sr. and Galynn have refused to leave their old home. According to the elderly couple, the house in which they brought up their children holds too many sweet memories and is simply priceless. They prefer to stay in that small two-story home in other to keep in touch with the memories.
Portola Drive, where the couple live, remains an upper-class neighborhood but moving to more affluent areas holds little appeal for them
Tom Brady Jr.’s Parents Suffered From COVID-19
Tom Brady Sr. was talking to ESPN in 2020 when the father of four narrated how he and Galynn contracted Coronavirus. According to the elderly man, both of them were as sick as a dog, and to worsen the situation, it happened right after their son commenced the season with his newest team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Though Galynn’s condition didn’t call for hospitalization, Tom Sr. had to spend three weeks in the hospital. It was because of senor Brady’s hospitalization that the couple missed the first two games of that season, which marked their first miss since their son started his football career.
Talking about the experience, Brady senior described it as a serious matter of life or death, and he didn’t even bother to know if they started playing, talk less of missing the matches. Bradly said he was mostly put on oxygen as breathing became a huge struggle. He also had to battle pneumonia alongside Covid.
Galynn, who was quarantined at home, was pained that she couldn’t go to take care of her husband at the hospital. She really wanted to reciprocate the gesture when Tom Sr. took care of her while she battled cancer, but she just couldn’t help the situation. With no other solution, Galynn only called him to know how he was doing. Fortunately, the elderly couple could defeat the virus despite their advanced ages and Galynn history of cancer.
Tom Brady’s Parents Also Have Three Other Children
Apart from Tom Brady Jr., Tom Sr. and Galynn are parents to three other children – all girls. The NFL quarterback is their last child and only son. The names of his big sisters are Maureen, Nancy, and Julie.
The oldest among the Brady brood is Maureen. During her days at Fresno State, she made a name as an All-American pitcher in softball in 1994. She passed this stellar skill to her daughter Maya Ann Brady-Timmons who is currently playing softball with UCLA Bruins. Maya was named the 2020 Softball America Freshman of the Year.
The mother of two (Maya and Hannah Brady) gave up baseball to study nursing, which she is practicing in one of the health facilities in Bakersfield, California.
Among the Brady siblings, Julie is the one people mistake to be Tom Jr.’s twin; this confusion stems from the fact that they share the same birthday of 3rd August. However, reports have clarified that the NFL player was born in 1977, while his big sister came in 1974.
Like every other member of the brood, Julie is also athletic; she played football with the soccer team at St. Mary’s College. Tom’s sister is now the wife of MLB infielder Kevin Youkilis and has three kids – Jordan Brady, Jeremy Youkilis, and Zachary Youkilis.
The other Brady sister, Nancy Brady, attended the University of California-Berkeley, where she equally played softball but never went professional with the sport. She is the most secretive member of the family, but reports revealed that she is the wife of Steve Bonelli. She is also a health worker like Maureen and works at John Snow, Inc.’s internal division as a Senior Technical Advisor.
Tom Brady Enjoyed the Greatest Support from his Parents and Siblings
Thanks to his parents and siblings, Tom Brady developed an interest in sports. Sunday afternoons at home came with multiple sports showdowns by his big sisters, giving the quarterback his immense competitive spirit.
The siblings would stage football and basketball games till sunset, and needless to say, the sports environment played a major role in shaping the NFL player as a champion footballer as he grew older.
While growing up in CA, Tom tagged alongside his dad to several NFL games, especially when the San Francisco 49ers were playing. When he grew older, his parents registered him at a football camp to train under the watch of coach Tony Graziani.
The Quarterback’s family always makes sure to attend his matches and has celebrated each Super Bowl he has won. He describes his parents as his biggest fans.
Tom’s family is a close-knit one with more than enough love to go around. The senor Brady has several been spotted kissing his son on the lips, and even though fans frown at the act, father and son have continued to display unconditional love towards each other in public
