Former "Brady Bunch" actress Ann B. Davis passed away June 1 at the age of 88, but will forever be remembered for her iconic television role, good-natured humor, and dedication to Christ.
Davis—who played Alice, the maid on the hit show—suffered a subdural hematoma after falling at her home in San Antonio. She died in a nearby hospital, never regaining consciousness.
The actress had been living for several years with retired Episcopal bishop William Frey and his wife, Barbara. She previously lived in Episcopal communities in Colorado and Pennsylvania. Bishop Frey said that Davis was not far removed from the exemplary character she played.
"What you see on 'The Brady Bunch' was who she was," Frey told CNN. "She was a very faithful Christian person."
Davis' successful television career began in the early 1950s, and she rose to fame by playing Charmaine "Schultzy" Schultz on popular sitcom "The Bob Cummings Show." Her most popular role, however, was on the 1970s series "The Brady Bunch."
Alice was the peacemaker, confidant, and comic relief on the hit show, which has been in syndication for decades. "The Brady Bunch" also spawned several spinoff series, movies, and television specials. In a 1990s interview, Davis said that she sometimes watched the reruns.
"I'll sit down and watch it 'cause I don't remember how it came out," she said.
"And that makes it kind of fun. Some I recognize right away, some I literally don't remember having shot. It's amazing to me that it's lasted."
After leaving Hollywood, Davis worked in a homeless shelter, and immersed herself in prayer and Bible study. She believed that we are empty without God in our lives.
"I'm convinced we all have a God-shaped space in us," she told People Magazine in 1992. "And until we fill that space with God, we'll never know what it is to be whole."
Davis never married or had children, but was a devoted aunt and friend.
