Rev. Edna C. Braley

Rev. Edna C. Braley, 81, Mandan, went home to be with the Lord on December 22, 2018, at Sanford Medical Center, Sioux Falls, SD.

Services will be held at 11:00 am Saturday, December 29, at All Nations Church, 121 48^th Ave SE, Bismarck, ND, 58504, with Pastor Gordon Williams officiating.

Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church.

Burial will be at Fairview Cemetery, Bismarck.

Edna was born March 12, 1937, in Astoria, OR, the second of four children of Ida and Charles Smith of Svensen, OR. She attended school in Svensen, OR; Griffin Creek, OR; Medford, OR; and graduated from Ashland High School in Ashland, OR, in 1954. Edna accepted the Lord as her personal Savior in August 1954. She continued her education in 1956 at Evangel University, Springfield, MO, and graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1960. She returned to Southern Oregon and immediately began work on a master’s degree. She began teaching school in Medford, OR.

Edna married the Rev. Donald Braley on July 7, 1962, and they moved to Butte Falls, OR, where they began pastoring Butte Falls Assembly of God. Edna taught school also while in Butte Falls. They moved to Kirkland, WA, in August 1963 and Edna began teaching in Issaquah, WA. Edna received a Master of Science in Education degree from Southern Oregon University in June 1964. They Braley’s two children were born in Bellevue, WA, while they were living in the Kirkland-Bellevue area.

In August 1968, the Braley’s moved to Neah Bay, WA, where they were missionaries on the Makah Indian Reservation. In 1975, after pastoring there for seven years, Don left the family, got a divorce, and Edna and the children relocated to Aberdeen, WA. Edna and the children moved to Mobridge, SD, in 1978, and she began teaching for the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Little Eagle Day School on the Standing Rock Reservation. She taught there for nine years.

Edna received her Christian Workers Permit from the South Dakota District Council of the Assemblies of God in April 1981. She received License to Preach in 1984, from the South Dakota District Council of the Assemblies of God. Edna was set apart and ordained to the ministry of the Gospel by the General Council of the Assemblies of God on April 8, 1986, at a recognition service in Spearfish, SD. In March 25, 1994, Edna was officially appointed as a missionary with the Division of Home Missions of the Assemblies of God. Her appointment was to Intercultural Ministries-Native American.

Edna held Children’s Crusades, taught Sunday School Seminars, was a speaker at education workshops, and was a speaker at ladies’ retreats/breakaways in Idaho, Washington, North Dakota, and South Dakota. She pastored in Mobridge and Wakpala, South Dakota. She was a professor and an administrator at Central Indian Bible College (later Black Hills Indian Bible College) for 15 years. She moved to Mandan, ND, in November 2002 and began teaching Bible classes at All Nations Assembly of God as a facilitator for Institute for Ministry Development. She was also a North Dakota District Council Native Education Coordinator.

A Makah name meaning, “Standing on the Rock” and a Sioux name meaning, “Woman Who Walks the Holy Road,” were given to Edna. Edna was honored by Little Eagle Day School for nine years of dedicated, quality service as an elementary teacher. She was listed in Who’s Who in American Education in 1989, International Woman of the Year in 1991, and Who’s Who in Religion in 1992-93.

A great satisfaction in Edna’s life was “the way my children turned out-I’m so proud of them!” She loved her children and grandchildren.  She also enjoyed reading, music, painting, spending time with her grandchildren, and watching sporting events. She was involved with her church and family and enjoyed spending time with them.

Her loving family members include her daughter and son-in-law, Rebecca and Travis Engen, Minot, ND, and two grandsons, Brandon Gosch and Logan Gosch; her son and daughter-in-law, Steven and Lori Braley, Brandon, SD, and two granddaughters, Victoria Braley and Elizabeth Braley. She is also survived by two sisters and brothers-in-law, Ida and Jim Jefferies and Jane and Tom Bradley; one brother and sister-in-law, Jim and Sylvia Smith; and several nieces and nephews.

Edna’s greatest love was her relationship with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the time she spent in worship, in serving Him, and in singing songs to glorify Him. One of her favorite scriptures was Philippians 1:21, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Her family is rejoicing, knowing that she is forever at peace in Heaven with her Savior, Jesus Christ. To God be the glory forever and ever. Edna’s life was an example of positive attitude, love, faith, and gratefulness. She will be deeply missed by her family and friends.