Clara Pauline Bracht

Clara Pauline Bracht, 96, beloved mother and grandmother, formerly of Fort Wayne, passed away on Dec. 11, 2022, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was born on Aug. 21, 1926, to George M. and Cecil Eleanor (Warren) Pettit in Puxico, Missouri. Pauline grew up on a farm and in 1945 graduated from Puxico High School, where she was valedictorian. Eager to expand her horizons from rural life, she headed to Berea College in Kentucky, where she graduated in 1950. After college she went to live with an aunt and uncle in New Castle, Indiana, before finding work at the Department of Public Welfare in Elkhart, Indiana, as a welfare visitor. At a square dance she met the love of her life, Ralph William Bracht. They were wed on Christmas Day in 1951. They made their first home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where Ralph was a public-school teacher. The couple later returned to Indiana and finally settled in Fort Wayne, Ralph’s hometown. There they raised their family and enjoyed gardening in the backyard of their first and only house. Many happy camping trips were spent at state parks in Michigan and Indiana. They were active in St. John’s United Church of Christ, and after a merger of congregations, Grace St. John’s UCC. Pauline went on to earn a master’s degree from the University of Saint Francis before beginning her 20-year career as a teacher-therapist at Park Center. Helping children was meaningful to Pauline. She enjoyed reading (especially inspirational books), games, dancing, jigsaw puzzles, flowers, walking, volunteering and going to church. After Ralph and Pauline retired, they took many trips to visit their son in Montana and their daughters in Oklahoma. Ralph was an aviation enthusiast, and they annually drove to the famed Oshkosh Air Show in Wisconsin. When Ralph died on Jan. 17, 2013, Pauline moved to the University Village retirement community in Tulsa to be close to her daughters and their families. In her final home at the Grove of Midtown, she took her last breath around 3:58 a.m. on Dec. 11 with caring staff members at her bedside. Pauline is survived by her twin sisters, Carolyn (Jerry) Heart and Kathryn Edwards of Kansas; her children, Victor (Catherine) Bracht of Tulsa, Deb (Brad) Niccum of Siloam Springs, Arkansas, and Linda (Daniel) Kleefeld of Tulsa; and grandchildren, Sandy, Erica, Corissa, Samuel, Joshua, Lisa and Courtney. Pauline was preceded in death by her husband, Ralph; her parents; three brothers; and one sister. Entombment will be in Greenlawn Memorial Park beside her beloved husband in Fort Wayne. A celebration of life memorial service will be on December 26, 2022 at 11 a.m. at New Prairie Church, 21436 Keck Road, Siloam Springs, Arkansas, 72761. Memorial contributions may be sent to Berea College, CPO 2216, Berea, KY 40404.