Olive Braley and her husband, Brad, household names to listeners of the Voice of Prophecy broadcasts in the middle decades of the 20^th Century, were known for their duets on organ and piano. While Brad was the organist and accompanist for the VOP for nearly 19 years, she was known for both her musical assistance and her gift in giving readings.

Olive Braley was born in rural Alabama and grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She was captain of the women's basketball team and head cheerleader at the high school she attended. It was during those years that her gifts in speaking and music became apparent.

She completed a B.A. in speech at Atlantic Union College in the late 1930's and then taught both music and speech at Southern Junior College, now Southern Adventist University. While she was at SJC, Brad Braley came to the campus to install a Wurlitzer pipe organ that had been removed from a theater in Boston. A courtship ensued and they married in December 1944.

At the end of the school year they moved to Atlanta, where they lived for two years. From 1947 to 1949, they played organ and piano in evangelistic meetings in the St. Louis area and then moved to La Grange, Illinois, where they taught at Broadview Academy until 1955, when they were hired by the VOP. While teaching at BA, they both studied at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago.

In their work with the VOP, they traveled extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Central and South America, and Europe. They recorded several albums for Chapel Records and were part of what was known as the VOP "B" group which included Del Delker, and H.M.S. Richards, Jr.. They, and the "A" group, H.M.S. Richards and the King's Heralds, each traveled over 12,000 miles each summer, performing on behalf of the VOP at camp meetings.

When at home, they attended the Eagle Rock Adventist Church in Los Angeles, California, where both played their instruments and she conducted the choir for 12 years. They also operated the Braley Music studio in Glendale, where they gave private lessons in organ, voice, piano, organ, and speech. They frequently played for weddings and other church functions, including the Church's General Conference Sessions where Brad was the organist for many years.

She was active in community life, serving three terms as president of the Community Concert Association, for which she was honored. She also served two terms as president of the Seventh-day Adventist Music and Arts Guild and as a judge on its scholarship program. She was a frequent master of ceremonies for banquets and other events, was an adjudicator in music festivals, and presented numerous programs as a humorist and reader.

She and her husband were members of the American Guild of Organists and the International Platform Association. She was listed in the 1973-75 edition of the World Who's Who for Women.

ds/2005

Based on an article, Their Romance Began with a Theater Organ, by Eldyn Karr from the Voice of Prophecy News, December, 1986, and a sketch by Ray Glendrange, given at the time of Olive Braley's death and other materials provided by the VOP.