Susan Braley, mother of more than 300 adopted children in Florida, died of COVID-19 at age 66.
Braley and her husband, Dennis Braley, tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks ago. The Davenport, Fla., Resident succumbed to the disease more than a week ago on January 20, while Dennis remains hospitalized. Over the past 20 years, the couple, who are originally from Bangor, Maine, have become adopted parents of a total of 309 children and adopted parents of seven of them.
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Carianne Braley, the couple’s biological daughter, told TODAY parents that their mother started raising children at 46, the age she is now. She said her mother was moved to be adopted when she saw Carianne’s biological brother Craig and his wife struggled to get pregnant and she always tried to keep the brothers together whenever possible.
“My mom said, ‘We have a house and we have love to give, so why not?’ Carianne said in a telephone interview.
It didn’t matter if a child stayed for two days, two weeks, two months or two years – all were treated well and received the love and support they lacked.
“You used to come into the house and you were always spotless,” recalls Carianne. Her mother was the leader of the family and her experience as a regional director in corporate America meant that she was adept at providing structure and an organized home for children. “This is why these children have prospered, because of their structure. It gave this consistency ”, said Carianne.
Susan was known for accepting children with behavioral problems and giving them the support they needed to change their lives. She took in a young woman with autism who came from deplorable conditions and was unable to speak. “My mom worked with Layla one by one, giving her backup,” explained Carianne. “In six months, she was carrying full sentences.” Layla is now 7 years old and Carianne says she is thriving.
Another of the children that Susan raised ended up being adopted by the principal of the school she attended.
Because of Susan’s work, she was able to provide a good home for the children she cared for, always decorating their rooms and giving them things they had never experienced before, from a new comforter and room decor to trips to Disney World and Sea World.
“They were financially stable,” said Carianne of her parents. “They didn’t do it for money, they did it for love.”
Susan and Dennis were willing to adopt children whose parents have passed away or have been through difficult situations. Even at 64, Susan has not shied away from adopting another child who needed a home. “She said to me, ‘It’s not like we want to be parents again, it’s that we have a home and stability,’” recalls Carianne.
Knowing that her mother’s donor nature made it even more difficult for Carianne to deal with her sudden death. She, her brother and all the children had a chance to say goodbye to Susan when they learned that her health was rapidly deteriorating, but, like so many other patients at COVID-19, Susan was only with the hospital staff in her final moments.
“She said, ‘Make sure you go into the church and look after these kids,'” said Carianne of her last conversation. Susan also told Carianne’s adult son, Thomas, to do the same thing.
Carianne and Thomas are now doing their best to support Dennis as he struggles with COVID-19 and to keep all the adopted children, whom she considers her “siblings cut children” at home.
“The biggest concern is to make sure everything is maintained,” she said. A friend of hers started a GoFundMe campaign to help.
“She was not that naive grandmother,” said Carianne of her mother. “She was amazing at teaching them how to be adults – how to cook, how to clean, how to talk to people.”
Whenever Carianne asked her mother if she was taking on too much, she always had the same answer.
“She said, ‘Let’s be fine’.”
