Acting Minister of Health and Family Services, Senator Michael Scott expressed Government?s sadness on the passing of Miss Olga Brangman, OBE yesterday.

Miss Brangman who opened her Pembroke home in the early 1950s to children in need, died yesterday in King Edward VII Memorial Hospital at 7.25 a.m. She was 93.

The Minister said Miss Brangman was a gentle, humble, caring lady who offered love and affection to countless children in Bermuda.

?Miss Brangman and her two sisters opened the doors of their home which became known as the Brangman Home, and they provided a safe haven to many children,? said the Minister. ?She lived with dignity and inspired her young charges to the highest heights without seeking personal gain or reward.

?Many of the children in her care went on to achieve key positions in Bermuda and are positive role models in Bermuda society.? Miss Brangman?s services to the community were honoured on two occasions by Her Majesty the Queen.

She became a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in Her Majesty?s 1966 Birthday Honours, and an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in Her Majesty?s 1978 Birthday Honours.

According to a book on her life, ?A Family Like Ours? written by Juanita Le Shore, Miss Brangman always dreamed of becoming a missionary in Africa. ??When she decided that there was no way for her to go, she remembers a voice telling her that, ?Your Africa is your next door neighbour, your backyard.? She did not worry about how her abilities could be limited, rather, she gathered up the faith that was needed to see her dream through.?

The book details how space was limited in the one bathroom, kitchen, living room, ironing room and six bedroom house where Miss Brangman, her two sisters and the 35-plus children lived.

??.But people kept knocking on her door asking her to raise their children and somehow they made things work.?

The Minister said Bermuda owed a tremendous debt of gratitude to Miss Brangman for the immeasurable contribution she made to Bermuda. ?The Government extends its condolences not only to her immediate family, but to the innumerable ?family? of children who passed through her care.

?In this age when we look for role models, heroes and others worthy of being emulated, she was a true Bermudian hero,? the Minister added. Former Family Services Minister Gloria McPhee, who pushed for a bigger home and secured Penhurst Park in Devonshire for Ms Brangman said: ?She was one of the finest women Bermuda has ever had. ?She brought up so many children. She had so many successes and very few failures.