William Savage Brackett

I was a 14 year old girl in Wilmette, Illinois who had a complicated home life. My parents were not church goers but every school day I walked past First Presbyterian Church on my way to school. I had the thought that there had to be something better than what was going on in my home. So one Sunday I went to First Presbyterian Church and walked in. All of the children there belonged to families attending that day including David and Bill Brackett. But their parents, Ann and Bill, and The...

I am one of the lucky ones who was graced with Bill's presence in my life. I was introduced to him through a mutual colleague who thought Bill could help The BARKA Foundation, a non-profit working in Burkina Faso I had co-founded a few years earlier. Bill had been to Burkina with World Neighbors and was happy to meet me with his wife Ann. We enjoyed a memorable lunch in a small seaside town of Maine. That was the beginning of a working relationship that lasted over 10 years. Bill hosted an...

Bill was a true gentleman and it was an honor to know him. Several years ago, the First Congregational UCC started a Green Team to help us meet our obligations to care for Creation. During the organizing phase, Bill was kind enough to host a dinner for the team at Plymouth Harbor. We learned a lot that evening including details of his role in helping with the Sustainability efforts at Plymouth Harbor. He shared information about navigating the bureaucratic obstacles with the City and...

Sincere condolences to all in the Brackett family and friends. Bill was Executive Director at World Neighbors when I joined as Director of International Programs in 1993, and we worked closely together until his retirement. I have many fond memories of Bill - his great passion and enthusiasm for everything he was involved in, his commitment to fighting poverty and injustice, his gentle and encouraging leadership, and of course the enormous hospitality he and Ann always showed, warmly...

As the former President/CEO of Plymouth Harbor on Sarasota Bay I knew Bill and his loving wife Ann. While I have many, many memories of Bill, I often recall seeing he and Ann walking hand-in-hand past my window as though they were newly weds. He "had her back." He was one of the kindest and compassionate persons I have ever had the privilege of knowing.