Elsie Brady

Elsie I “Jackie” Brady, of Kitzmiller, passed away peacefully on Sunday, January 26, 2020 at Cherry Hill Assisted Living.  Born on April 22, 1930 in Kitzmiller, she was the daughter of the late Fitzhugh L. and Edna O. (Shank) Burrell.

Jackie is survived by her son, Mike Brady and wife, Nancy, of Kitzmiller; daughters, Debbie Brady-Mahe of Morgantown, WV; Melissa Rohrbaugh and husband, Scott, of Oakland and Addie Glotfelty and husband, Warren, of McHenry. The Brady Bunch includes twelve grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren with one on the way.  In addition to her parents, Jackie was preceded in death by her husband, George Elzie Brady; her brother, Robert L. Burrell; her sister, Dixie Mae (Burrell) Phillips and a son-in-law, Petesa “Pat” Mahe.

Jackie was born, raised and lived her life in the house built by her father in Kitzmiller. She graduated from Kitzmiller High School.  She received her teaching degree from Piedmont College in Demorest, GA.  She and her husband, George, raised their family in Kitzmiller where she was active with the Girl Scouts and other school and community activities. During this time, she was one of the first women to serve a term on the Garrett County Board of Education.  She was lifetime member of the Kitzmiller Presbyterian Church and continued her devotions at the Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church after the Presbyterian Church closed.

Once her children were in school, she started teaching Headstart at Kitzmiller Elementary.  Later, she taught kindergarten at Oak Street School, Broadford Elementary and then back to Kitzmiller, where she then retired.  She will be remembered as “Mrs. Brady” by many in Garrett County.

Jackie was an active member of the Garrett County Democratic Club.  She served on the Ruth Enlow Library and Garrett County Social Services Boards and was an officer and member of the Kitzmiller Empowerment Group for many years. She also served on the Garrett County Health Planning Council for a number of years.

Her passion for keeping her hometown history alive was illustrated by her founding and curating of the Kitzmiller Coal Heritage Museum, where she volunteered many hours as well as personal and family artifacts to help others learn about Kitzmiller’s history.  Jackie was also very passionate about the Kitzmiller Botanical Garden.  She was one of the former Kitzmiller High School students of Dr. Melvin Brown who created the original Gardens.  In later years, she worked in conjunction with Dr. Brown to restore and revive the Botanical Gardens.  She spent many hours planting and weeding so that town residents and visitors alike can enjoy the park even today.

Jackie shared her life-long love of reading with her grandchildren and in the early 1980’s started annually giving each of them an author or illustrator-autographed book from the Children’s Literature Festival of Frostburg State University.  She always put her Ruth Enlow Library card to good use researching all those books prior to the Festival so that she could choose just the right one for each grandchild.  In 2012, she was chosen as the Betty Roemmelmeyer Advocate Award recipient at the Spring Children’s Literature Festival because of her love of children’s literature as well as her endeavors to share it with so many.

Friends will be received at the C & S Fredlock Funeral Home, P.A., 710 Church St., Kitzmiller, on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 PM. A funeral service will be held in the funeral home on Thursday, January 30, 2020 at 11 AM with Rev. Dr. Matthew Paugh officiating.  Interment will follow in the IOOF Cemetery, Elk Garden, WV.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice of Garrett County, P.O. Box 271, Oakland, MD 21550 or to the Kitzmiller Empowerment Group, 1305 Spring Street, Kitzmiller, MD 21538.