Ann Bragg, an enthusiastic volunteer for church and community whose service brought honors from what is now the Sight Center, died Aug. 5 in Ohio Living Swan Creek. She was 85.

She had congestive heart failure, son Michael Bragg said. She and her late husband, Ralph Bragg, moved to Swan Creek more than five years ago from their longtime home on Pinelawn Drive.

Mrs. Bragg’s first volunteer role at the Toledo Society for the Blind was to read to those who were blind or visually impaired. By 1998, she was named the society’s “volunteer of the year” and received her award at the society’s 75th anniversary dinner.

“She gave a speech, which she rarely did. It was special for her,” her son said. ‘It was a neat opportunity for her to be the center of attention.”

Her husband, Ralph Bragg, was a lawyer respected for his expertise in real estate matters who represented what is now Buckeye Broadband. Buckeye and The Blade are owned by Block Communications Inc. 

“She was always looking for ways she could benefit others with her time,” said Helen Patton, a friend and Park Congregational Church member since 1968. “I walked into the church. I saw her striking appearance, sitting with her children in the church pew. She was welcoming and friendly.”

At Park, Mrs. Bragg taught Sunday school and coached girls’ basketball, but also served on boards and committees. She helped with the feed-your-neighbor program and traveled with the youth group to the east coast, a journey those in need with home repair.

“She always had a strong sense of mission,” Mrs. Patton said.

Mrs. Bragg and her husband made sure Park’s social groups remained vibrant.

“She was definitely outgoing and loved to talk,” said Norma Kelling, Park organist for more than 50 years. “She was interested in everybody.”

Mrs. Bragg was a volunteer naturalist for Metroparks Toledo, in period dress on canal boats or guiding children and people who have special needs on nature trails.

She’d been a volunteer for St. Paul’s Community Center, Mobile Meals, and Read For Literacy. She was active in the Toledo Bar Association Auxiliary. She added her voice to the Maumee Senior Center Singers and Swan Creek Singers.

She and her husband had a cottage on Devil’s Lake, as beautiful and secluded as the lake is busy, their son said.

“It was an oasis for them away from everything,” he said.

She was born Feb. 25, 1935, in Boston to Alice and Howard Brentlinger. She grew up in Belmont, Mass., and was a graduate of Belmont High School. She was a fourth-generation attendee of Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, where she had four classes with her future husband and sat next to him in chapel besides.

The young couple moved to Cambridge, Mass., so that Mr. Bragg could attend Harvard law school. The couple came to Toledo, where Mr. Bragg became a partner in what is now Spengler Nathanson. 

She stayed home to care for their children for several years. She became a substitute teacher through the late 1980s in the Toledo Public Schools and with the Head Start program in Rossford.

She and her husband married April 3, 1956. He died Feb. 13, 2017

Surviving are her daughter, Cathy Leinbaugh; sons Michael, James, and John Bragg; 11 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 3-7 p.m. Friday at Coyle Funeral Home. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Park Congregational Church. Those attending are asked to wear face masks and keep a social distance. A recording of the service will be posted to the Friends of Park Church Facebook page.

The family suggests tributes to Park Congregational Church.

First Published August 14, 2020, 4:00 a.m.