Alice Bracken-Carroll

From the time she was born on July 17, 1952, in Salina, KS she was surrounded by art and theatre. Her parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles instilled a love of these creative arts in Alice, and she not only opened her arms wide and thrived, she also welcomed and mentored students and apprentices - always teaching those who loved art as much as she did. She was preceded in death by her husband, Andrew “Andy” M. Bracken (2021) and is survived by her daughter, Jennifer Baltes, MN; and her siblings, Mary Elizabeth Atwood, MD, Anne Carroll, MO, Tony Carroll, TX, Katie Carroll, MO, Therese Pepmiller, MO. She loved all of her cousins, nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews and Godchildren with a passion.

Andy and Alice were married for over 30 years. Together they enjoyed cheering on the Chiefs, caring for their dogs: Monty, Samdog and Dexter and were known for hosting the best 4th of July party in their backyard.

Alice grew up in Manhattan, KS. She began her academic journey into the world of visual arts when she attended Kansas State University in Manhattan to study art. From there she travelled coast to coast painting scenery for theatres. She was a guest artist at several professional theatres including The Guthrie Theatre in MN, Goodspeed Opera Company in CT, The Burt Reynolds Theater in FL, and The Huntington in MA as well as painting for movies and assisting art directors in Los Angeles.

In 1987, she came to Kansas City, MO, originally expecting it to be another temporary stop. Instead, she became the Charge Scenic Artist for the KCRep Theatre on the campus of UMKC. In her years there she helped to bring many shows to life and taught graduate students techniques including trompe l’oeil (deceiving the eye or painting 2D objects to look 3D), faux painting and other ‘tricks of the trade’. She was a former member of the United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829.

After retiring from the KCRep, she spent time creating with alcohol ink dyes, mold making, sculpting and other artistic endeavors including starting a faux painting business called Alice Blue where she used the techniques she first learned in the theater to transform residential and business spaces. In 2014, she joined Eclectics in Kansas City, an artist’s co-op and gallery.

She treasured outings with friends and with former employees of KCRep. She especially looked forward to catching up with her high school classmates every month. She enjoyed her trips to Scotland and loved every opportunity to create art, whether it was at a workshop in Europe, a craft weekend with her sisters or creating an annual custom holiday card.

She was a talented artist who could take a small photo and turn it into a large backdrop as easily as she could create a large sculpture out of foam. Her joy was infectious and her antics memorable. She will be greatly missed and her memory often treasured with a smile.

Her Celebration of Life will be posted here as soon as dates are confirmed. Please continue to check back for additional service information.

If you would like to make a donation in her name please consider one of the following businesses:

The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures - https://toyandminiaturemuseum.org/donations/ or Kansas City Repertory Theatre - https://kcrep.org/individual-support-donate/ or to Wayside Waifs - https://waysidewaifs.org/donate-2/