Nancy Bragdon

January 3, 1929 - February 26, 2024 - A celebration of life and memorial will be held for Nancy Bragdon on Saturday, June 22, 2024 at 3:00 PM, at the Town Club, 2115 Southwest Salmon Street, in Portland, Oregon.

Nancy Ellen Horton Bragdon died February 26, 2024, at the age of 95.

Nancy was born January 3, 1929, in Rochester, Minnesota, the daughter of Bayard T. Horton M.D. and Jane Heyl Horton. After graduating from college in June 1951, she moved to New York City, first landing a job at MacMillan Publishing, then became a photo editor at Life Magazine.

She married Paul Bragdon in 1954. They devoted their evenings to political action in their neighborhood. The 1956 Adlai Stevenson for President campaign put Nancy in charge of all door-to-door canvassing in a large section of the east side of Manhattan. Nancy drew inspiration from Eleanor Roosevelt, a resident of the district who became her informal advisor. In 1957, Nancy ran as the reform candidate for Democratic Leader for her Assembly district, but came up short against the machine candidate.

Nancy and Paul’s children are David, Susan and Peter.

Once her children were all in school, Nancy undertook her next career, obtaining a Master’s degree in early childhood education. She became a teacher of teachers.

Nancy and Paul moved to Southeast Portland in 1971, when he became President of Reed College. Nancy was devoted to Portland for the rest of her life. In addition to her role in helping Paul revive Reed College, she taught early childhood development classes at Portland Community College, wrote a book (with Aphra Katzev) about child care, and helped build Portland Arts and Lectures into a cultural force.

Paul died in August 2021, but Nancy continued to do what she had always done, enriching the lives of old and new friends. The essence of the Nancy who had organized student government in high school or charmed cynical voters in Manhattan or entertained hundreds of college faculty and students at Reed still shone within the Nancy to the last of her days. All those friends are invited to join her family to remember her on June 22. She is survived by her three children; and her grandchildren Matthew, Emily Grace, Jane, Grace and Annie; and her great-grandaughter Vesper.

In addition to eagerly wanting people to come to her party, Nancy would politely suggest that any donations in her memory to be contributed to Oregon Health and Sciences University earmarked for the Melvin Judkins Cardiology Fund, to Chamber Music Northwest, or to Portland Literary Arts Inc.