Ann B. Davis passed away this weekend at the age of 88, after falling in her bathroom and hitting her head. She, of course, played Alice Nelson, the beloved housekeeper/maid on The Brady Bunch throughout the show’s entire run. What many never knew about the actress, however, was that she led a very active Christian life. Of course her heyday came at a time when people didn’t have social media to promote their religious beliefs. Even if they did, it seems Ann B. Davis preferred word of mouth over everything else anyway.
Davis’s active Christian life kicked into full swing once The Brady Bunch’s production came to an end. It was then she settled in a quiet Episcopalian community in Texas, led by retired Bishop William Frey.
“I was born again,” she said years ago in an interview. “It happens to Episcopalians. Sometimes it doesn’t hit you till you’re 47 years old. It changed my whole life for the better. … I spent a lot of time giving Christian witness all over the country to church groups and stuff.”
Davis no doubt drew great crowds when she witnessed to those church groups. Even those unsure of their faith would go to see Alice from The Brady Bunch. After all, she was funny, quick witted, and she had that famous smile that was always centered in the squares that comprised The Brady Bunch family members at the beginning of each and every show. That would draw people in–and Davis knew that. Once she had them she shared her strong beliefs with them.
Ann B. Davis of "The Brady Bunch" will be greatly missed.
Blessed to know that she was a born-again Christian who loved Jesus to the end!
— Cherone Yagmin (@clyagmin) June 2, 2014
Ann B. Davis never married.
“By the time I started to get interested (in finding someone),” she told the Chicago Sun-Times, “all the good ones were taken.”
She maintained her career was always far more interesting than any man would have been anyway.
Ann B Davis was a part of my childhood. RIP to a good Christian woman.
— Brian Hill (@thebrianhill) June 1, 2014
The Brady Bunch wasn’t Davis’s only claim to fame. She starred many years earlier in The Bob Cummings Show as well as many stage productions. In her later years it was those church groups with whom she shared her laughter. She no doubt considered winning souls for Christ among her greatest achievements.
Her role as Alice Nelson likely took a close second, however.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
