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Alice From "The Brady Bunch" Dead At 88

BEAVER COUNTY (KDKA) -- An actress who won the hearts of TV viewers nationwide, died Saturday in San Antonio.

Ann B. Davis, 88, who played the role of "Alice" on "The Brady Bunch," struck her head in a fall, and never regained consciousness.

The Emmy-winning actress achieved fame in the early '70s, as the outspoken housekeeper for the Brady family. But in 1976, she answered a different calling, joining an Episcopal community in Denver, led by Bishop William Frey,

In 1990, Bishop Frey became the dean of the Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge. When he and his wife moved to Beaver County, Ann moved out with them, and became a major part of the community.

Director of Communications Chris Klukas says students at Trinity treasured her her advice.

"She would use that background she had to teach the students to have more of a presence in the pulpit," he said.

He says she moved with the Freys to San Antonio in 1996.

"She just lived as a part of their family," he said. "She loved the Freys and they loved her, and she stayed with them right up until her death this weekend."

One of her fiends at Trinity was Chief Operations Officer Bruce Newell, now retired.

"She wanted to spend time growing spiritually here at Trinity, and that's what she did," Newell recalls. "And she was a feisty lady. Drove a Miata. And she was a heck of a good actress. And she would mentor the kids here. They did skits all the time as students, and she would each them how to stand and talk, and things like that."

She'll be remembered by most for her TV role. But in Ambridge, the bond is deeper.

As her friend Bruce Newell says, "She was a super lady."

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