Linda K. Braucher

Linda Kathryn Braucher, 76, of Liberty Center, Ohio, passed away on Aug. 19, 2025, in Maumee, Ohio, after an extended illness.

Linda was born on Feb. 16, 1949, in Cary, North Carolina, to Jackson and Charlotte (Billipp) Frantz.

As a child, Linda loved spending time with her "Country Grandma" and her "City Grandma." Country Grandma Ruth Frantz lived in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and Linda spent many weekends and summers with her extended family in their country cottage near Bucknell University.

City Grandma Charlotte Bramley lived in New York City, and there Linda experienced the 1964 World's Fair, explored the city with her sister, and attended Broadway plays and musicals.

As a teenager, Linda canvassed for presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and lost her voice screaming at a The Beatles concert at the Baltimore Civic Center on their 1964 historic tour. She graduated from the Arnold Constable Charm School and took a life-changing ocean liner trip to Europe aboard the SS France.

After graduating from Towson High School in Towson, Maryland, in 1967, Linda moved to Ohio to attend Wilmington College. She married during the Summer of Love, June 1969, and moved to Liberty Center.

She earned a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree in library science from Bowling Green State University. She especially loved her first job as a Head Start teacher in Malinta, Ohio where she taught local children and Spanish-speaking children of migrant workers. She used her first paychecks to buy a beloved 1972 gold Chevy Nova.

Linda was immensely proud of her three daughters and, as befitting a librarian, she named them in alphabetical order. She happily attended their numerous marching band performances, choir and band concerts, track meets, art shows, softball games and musical theater productions.

Linda was dedicated to community service and helping others. When the family operated the Village Pantry in Liberty Center, she often provided essentials to neighbors in need. She was a lifelong Girl Scout and served as a troop leader, service unit leader, regional cookie coordinator, and volunteer leader of day camps at Camp Libbey in Defiance.

She volunteered for the Salvation Army, served on the Liberty Center Library Board, and was a poll worker and trainer for the Henry County Board of Elections for decades. A dedicated member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Liberty Center, she taught Sunday school and catechism classes, organized vacation Bible school, tutored children from the congregation in algebra and math, and participated in the vocal and bell choirs.

She retired in April 2014 from her position as the Media Librarian at Napoleon Public Library.

Linda loved playing cards and board games and could beat anyone in the room at Trivial Pursuit. She completed the daily crossword puzzles in three local newspapers in pen and (almost) never made a mistake.

She loved reading, cats, crafting, painting ceramics and sewing. Her daughters loved falling asleep to the sound of her sewing machine humming away to make Halloween costumes, special occasion dresses, and all manner of everyday clothing.

Linda was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Susan Winters, formerly of Richmond, Indiana.

She is survived by her daughters, Alice (Edward) Magdziak of Bloomfield, New Jersey, Amanda (James) Kantner of Maumee, Ohio, and Anne (Aurelio) Kamosso of Newnan, Georgia; her nieces and nephew, Debra, Daniel and Samantha; and granddaughters, Amber, Eris and Aurora.

Friends and family will be received on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, at Rodenberger-Gray Funeral Home in Napoleon, Ohio. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until the time of services at noon.

In remembrance of Linda's life, the family asks that charitable donations be made to the Henry County Humane Society or Advocates for Ohio's Future (AOF).

Her family would like to express their deep gratitude to the nurses and social work staff at Addison Heights Health and Rehab and Care 360 Hospice for their compassionate care. Her daughters' conversations with staff members showed that they clearly knew Linda for the sassy and smart lady that she was.