Dr. C. Franklin Bracken and Helene Kimmerle Bracken

Dr. C. Franklin Bracken was born in Seeleys Bay, Ontario and was a graduate of Queens College Medical School in Kingston, Ontario. Dr. Bracken was a renowned ophthalmologist in New York City and was closely associated with Columbia University Medical School where he participated in ground-breaking work in cataract surgery.

Helene Kimmerle Bracken was a native of New York City and was a graduate of Columbia University School of Business Administration. She worked for a number of years for the Mobil Oil Corporation and was an executive in the Foreign Trade Department at Mobil at the time of her retirement in the early 1970’s.

Following their retirement, Dr. and Mrs. Bracken moved to Pinehurst where Mrs. Bracken pursued her love of nature, establishing extensive azalea and camellia gardens. Dr. Bracken died in 1983 at the age of 95. Mrs. Bracken continued to live in Pinehurst and supported many philanthropic causes until her death in 2000.

Through her generous legacy gift, Helene K. Bracken has transformed the education of Nurses and Health Science professionals at Sandhills Community College for decades to come.