Gloria Bracken

Gloria Delores Bracken was born on December 26, 1933, in Union, New Jersey.

The daughter of James T. Bracken, Jr. and Alberta Bracken both deceased. She had five brothers

Alan Bracken who died as a baby, James T. Bracken II, Richard W. Bracken, Edward Bracken and

Robert Bracken. All deceased. As the only girl she was called “Angel” at times. Not always with her

brothers though, she knew how to stand up for herself. She is survived by her daughter Kathleen S.

La Valle nee (Bracken), Kathleen’s husband John J. La Valle, her grandson John Sebastian La Valle

and his wife Chrystal C. La Valle, and her great granddaughter Rio Luna. Rio called her “3G” Great

Grandma Gloria. She is also survived by her family of nieces and nephews whom she loved like her

own children including a dear friend Kathleen’s who spent a lot of time with Gloria’s family as

Kathleen’s friend was growing up. Her heart was always open to those who needed her.

Having a birthday the day after Christmas was always a challenge. Her brothers used to give her

presents like a pair of gloves. One on Christmas and the other one on her birthday. One time she

was seen on one roller skate Christmas day pushing along patiently waiting for the next day to get

that other skate. She loved to roller skate and would go often and even practiced roller skate racing.

She was raised with a family that cherished each other and had a good sense of humor.

She participated in a special program at Bloomfield College to encourage women to get a business

degree. She went to classes at night after work. She worked for a major jewelry manufacturer in

Newark, NJ and rose to the level of sales coordinator for all the salesmen. She worked with them

and prepared and chose their sample lines to take with them. It was a great responsibility, and she

loved doing it. She got to attend jewelry shows around the USA.

She took care of her parents until they passed. And worked very hard until she retired. She was a

member of a family group called the “Sewing Club”. They would meet once a week and work on

different knitting or sewing projects. They would save up and go to a show and dinner once a year in

NYC. She played Raquet Ball, Bowled and enjoyed spending time with her cousins. She was

honored by Weight Watchers in one of their publications when she lost over 100 lbs. back in the

1980’s. Every year on her daughter’s birthday she had a birthday party with a different theme. She

would bake and decorate a cake to match that theme. When her brothers or their children were in

the military, she baked things to send to them wherever they were stationed.

She loves her family, and her strength, patriotism and giant heart will always be remembered by

those of us who know her and love her.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend a funeral on Wednesday, September 4, 2024 at KROWICKI MCCRACKEN FUNERAL HOME, 2124 East Saint George Ave, Linden, NJ 07036.

Visiting 9:00 am until time of funeral service at 11:00 am. Interment Rosehill Cemetery, Linden.