The Bracken Endowment was established in 1998 by Mrs. Sharon Bracken in memory of her husband Jim, and her father-in-law L.D. Bracken, who were innovative and respected leaders in the pharmacy profession in the State of Washington.  The endowment is intended to maintain the PCLC's telecommunication, computing and patient care technologies at a state-of-the-art level, thus affecting the learning capacities of pharmacy students and advancing the practice of pharmaceutical care in community pharmacies and other practice sites.    

Louis D. (L.D.) Bracken attended the University of Washington College of Pharmacy in 1912 and 1913.  His son, Jim L. Bracken, graduated from the University of Washington School of Pharmacy in 1945.   L.D. founded L.D. Bracken Pharmacy in 1921 and maintained thriving professional pharmacies in downtown Seattle in the Cobb Building and on First Hill.  Jim joined the family business when he graduated and became president when his father died in 1954.

Both L.D. and Jim were entrepreneurs (L.D. invented Blistex) and were beloved leaders in the profession, serving as presidents of the Washington State Pharmacists Association and as founding members of the American College of Apothecaries.  Jim was also named Pharmacist of the Year for King County.  He passed away in 1984.

Jim's wife, Sharon M. Bracken, and their children, Laura Bracken Clough, Carol Bracken Clemency, and John L. Bracken, continue to value and honor the contributions that L.D. and Jim made to the profession of pharmacy.