I first met Patricia Bragg in 2000 when I moved from Northern California to Santa Barbara with my then-fiancé, Tom. He had taken a job here as a counselor for youth, and I was happy to be able to move to Santa Barbara with him. A few months later, I applied for a job advertised in the Santa Barbara News-Press, I was just looking for something part time to do as I reestablished in a new town. The job description said, “part-time help wanted.” Period. I interviewed for it, got it, and started the next day, even though the “interview” provided absolutely no information about the job or what I would be doing for Patricia!
It turned out that Patricia hired me because her cat, Big Foot, liked me. And that was the beginning of 23 years of friendship.
If you ever had the privilege of meeting Patricia Bragg, you’d understand why she was truly unforgettable. Clad in vibrant, eye-catching, brightly colored clothing, she radiated a zest for life that was contagious. Clothing was never supposed to match, as long as every color was bright and happy. Her energy was palpable; she wanted to stop and talk to everyone, no matter where she was, always sharing a newsletter, a gift of a book from her library of health books, or products from her company, Bragg Live Foods, which she had run since the late 1970s. It was important to her to make a connection with everyone she came across in some way.