Sylvia Lee Braden

Sylvia Lee Braden loved her family, her friends, the Santa Fe mountains and her gardens. She left this world peacefully on December 2nd, 2020 at the age of 88, following a graceful decline due to dementia and a brief respiratory infection. She was divorced in 1966 and never remarried.  She leaves behind her two sons: Gregg, who resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Eric, who resides in Smithville, Missouri, her grandson, Clinton Lee Hanson, now living in Phillipsburg, Kansas, and her daughter-in-law Martha Reich-Braden of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Sylvia was born on July 20th, 1932 in Kansas City, Missouri.  She married her high school sweetheart from Central High School in 1952, Hugh Braden, just before he was deployed to Elmendorf Airforce Base, Alaska, during the Korean war. Shortly after his deployment, Sylvia traveled to Anchorage to be with Hugh and to give birth to the first of their two sons. Just before the birth, however, she made a choice to return to her family, and the familiar doctors in her home town just before her eldest, Gregg, was born. Sylvia gave birth to her second son, Eric, four years later and raised both boys with Hugh in Kansas City until they divorced in 1966.

Sylvia returned to the workplace as a single parent and excelled in her technical, organizational, and administrative skills through a career path that included working at Kansas City’s prestigious Midwest Research Institute, The US Army Corps of Engineers and The US Army Map Service. She ultimately became the chief administrator for the National Weather Service Technical Training Center, a division of N.O.A.A. (the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) where she remained for 28 years until her retirement in 1998.

In retirement, Sylvia focused on the things that brought joy into her life. She cared lovingly for her father until his passing in 1998.  She then moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico to be closer to friends, family and enjoy the beauty of the high desert vistas, sunshine and sunsets, and hone her talent for gardening. She was diagnosed with a rare form of dementia in 2009.  Following a progression of assisted living residences to meet her increasing need for support, she joined a small community of elders at Santa Fe’s renowned Sierra Vista community, where she passed in December.

Sylvia’s life, and the love, humor, beauty and joy she brought to this world are missed and deeply cherished by those who knew her and loved her. Now that the restrictions of the Covid19 pandemic are easing, we will be celebrating Sylvia’s life, gifts and achievements near the date of her birth.

Services will be held at Rivera Kiva Chapel of Light on Thursday, July 15, 2021 starting from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• Details for Sylvia's memorial are as follows                                                                           

Date: July 15, 2021

Time: 2:00pm

Location: Rivera Family Chapel

Address: 417 East Road Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505

Phone:    (505)-989-7032

Website: https://riverafamilyfuneralhome.com

• If you have any photos, or would like to write something that we can read at the time of the memorial, please send to:

Gregg Braden

Email: [email protected]

Physical Mail: PO Box 29510 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87952

Gregg Braden is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Sylvia Lee Braden Memorial Service

Time July 15, 2021 02:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81814310574?pwd=OHd2MWIxZk1MOVJBL0h0d0NaRVVFQT09

Meeting ID: 842 7285 3496

Passcode: 642002

Thank you for joining us to share your moments, little known facts, and her unspoken acts of kindness as we celebrate the life and light of Sylvia Lee Braden