Audrey Ann Brainerd

Surrounded by her family, Audrey (DePhillips) Brainerd passed away on the morning of December 2nd after a brief illness.

Audrey was born in Albany, CA on March 5, 1933 to William and Angelina DePhillips and raised in Benicia. She graduated from St. Vincent Ferrer High School in Vallejo in 1950 and went on to earn her Registered Nurse Degree at St. Mary’s College in San Francisco. She started her RN career at St. Mary’s

Hospital in San Francisco and would continue working as an RN for the next 35 years. In the summer of 1954 she met Cal student James Brainerd on a blind date and they were married at St. Dominic’s Church in Benicia in 1955.

In 1956 with 1 child, they moved to Napa. Dad worked as the assistant manager at the JC Penney store and mom worked first at Parks Victory Hospital then helped open the new Queen of the Valley Hospital. Over the next couple of years they had 5 more children and were involved with St Apollinaris Church. In the late 1960’s dad was promoted within the JCP company requiring the family of 8 including a dog, a few cats and a parakeet to move several times within California and Arizona and then on to the East Coast in the late 1970’s. Mom always made the moves seem like a fun adventure for us kids: new people, places and things to do - always a plus, not a negative. Back in those days no one watched TV in the daytime and there were no cell phones, iPads or Gameboys. Mom would load up all 6 of us kids and a few of the neighborhood kids into the 9 passenger station wagon and away we’d go to the beach, mountains, historical sites and parks. No matter where we lived, our house was THE place for kids to hang out. Dad always says he knew he had 6 kids but wondered why there were always 8 to 10 at the dinner table. As we grew older the teenage noise at the house was, well, teenage rambunctious, but mom was fine with the chaos. Our friends became her “kids” and to this day they call her “mama”. While raising her family she continued working as a Registered Nurse in whatever city we lived, preferring to work the graveyard shift so that she could be home in the afternoon when we returned from school and also to attend our school sports and activities.

Mom enjoyed reading, needlepoint, dancing, was a FABULOUS cook and enjoyed getting dressed “to the nines” for occasions, particularly Christmas and Easter when she always sported a fancy, new hat. She was also an avid golfer (ok, golf “fanatic” would be a more accurate description). She enjoyed golf vacations with family and friends to Myrtle Beach and Arizona and in 1992 she attended the US Open at

Pebble Beach. She also loved the Arizona desert and the Hawaiian Islands.

Audrey is survived by her husband of 62 years, James; her 6 children: Kathleen, David (Meryl), Jean (Mike), Boy, Mary Ann (Frank) and Ang; her grandchildren: Shannon (Eric), Brian (Jenelle) and Savannah; her great- grandson Parker James Brainerd;her sisters Katherine and Wilma Mary and many cousins, nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her grandson, Frankie J Sanservino.

Our family is most appreciative of all the love and support we have received from friends and family. Special thanks and gratitude are extended to Dan and Christine Mahoney for the 24/7 care they have provided us over the last 2 weeks.



In lieu of flowers, donations in Audrey’s memory can be made to St. Dominic’s Church in Benicia, St. Mary’s Church in Vacaville, or an organization that helps children who, like her great-grandson, have Pierre Robin Sequence (www.faces-cranio.org or www.cleftsmile.org ).