Gladys Deane Bracy Jacques, M.S.N. '72

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 Gladys Deane Bracy Jacques, M.S.N. ’72, passed away at the age of 87 on Sept. 30, 2017. Born in McCamey, Texas, Bracy received her bachelors of science in 1952 from Tillotson College in Austin, Texas. Known for her determination, Bracy decided to join the United States Naval Reserve (Women’s Reserve), better known as WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), in the Medical Unit and was recognized for her outstanding accomplishments. She was honorably discharged from the Navy and went on to receive her certification as a Registered Nurse at Pasadena City College.

In 1972, Bracy graduated from UCLA with a master's in nursing. She then went on to start her tenure at Huntington Hospital, serving as the head nurse and administrator of in-service education and staff development. Bracy worked for several organizations after that, including Martin Luther King Hospital, the Veterans Health Administration and at the University of California, San Francisco. In 1993, she petitioned Kaiser Permanente to donate a $4.2-million complex to the Urban Health Care Project. This was the first time in history that Kaiser had made such a large donation. Bracy has been published numerous times and part of several organizations, including The Black Nurses Association, UCLA Continuing Education for Nurses Association, National Black Nurses Association and the Nurses NOW Task Force. She received her Nurse of the Year award in 1976, followed by a few years later, where she created her own businesses Vision Associates, a medical and mental health consulting business and Extend-A-Life, an earthquake preparedness business.

Bracy was a very loving person and had a burning passion for her daughter Lisa and grandson Christopher, to not only succeed, but also wanted them to be God-loving, humble and productive members of society.