Laurie Hildreth Bracker

Laurie Hildreth Bracker passed away peacefully on February 10, 2022 in the presence of her children, she was 95 years old. She is survived by her children, Rebecca (Janos) Wilder, Jeffrey Bracker, Carrie Bracker and Barbara Bracker-Sam, by her four grandchildren Benjamin Wilder, Aaron Hamer, Harvey Sam and Cody Sam and five great-grandchildren Nya Sam, Hugo, Hector and Rudy Hamer and Eli Wilder. She was preceded in death by her husband Harvey Bracker, her son David Bracker, her parents Sidney and Carrie Hildreth and her sisters Cody Kerson and Mollie Hildreth.

Laurie was born in Greenville, Texas in 1926 and raised in Farmersville, Texas. She attended Farmersville High School and received her degree in Education from Texas State College for Women. She first taught school in Del Rio, Texas for two years before moving to Nogales, Arizona with her sister Cody in 1948. There she taught sixth grade at Roosevelt Junior High School. That same year she met her future husband Harvey Bracker and on New Year’s Eve 1950 they were married. The young couple settled in Nogales and together they raised five children. Laurie was a devoted mother, wife and homemaker. She was an excellent cook and baker and was well known in the community for her recipes, delicious meals, cakes, pies and baked goods and for the lavish parties she and Harvey would host. 

In addition Laurie was a gifted artist painting portraits and landscapes in oil and water colors. She studied art under local artist Jean Wisdom and later traveled to Tucson weekly to study under renowned artist Nathan Robinson. Laurie would enter her paintings in the Santa Cruz County Fair annually and would win top prizes. She also showed her work in Tubac and Nogales and did many portrait commissions for friends and family members who still own her paintings to this day.

Laurie enjoyed gardening, playing tennis and bridge and belonged to the Pimeria Alta Garden Club of Nogales. She traveled extensively with her husband Harvey where their travels would take them to the four corners of the world. She doted on her children and grandchildren and would make several trips to Texas every year to spend time with her mother and sisters. After her husband Harvey’s passing in 1992 Laurie moved to Tucson in 1993 to be closer to her children and grandchildren and lived the next 29 years there.

She will be buried in the Jewish Cemetery in Nogales, Arizona on Thursday, February 24 at 2:00 PM, Rabbi Thomas Louchheim officiating. In lieu of flowers the family asks that a donation be made to the National Alzheimer’s Association.