Ranzolin, Lucila Braun (1936–2023)

Lucila Braun Ranzolin, a teacher and educator, was born on March 16, 1936, in Curitiba, the capital of the state of Paraná, Brazil. She was the daughter of Roberto (1909-1996) and Hedwig Rabello (1911-1970) and the sister of Claudio Rabello.¹ Her grandfather, Ludwig Braun, was a German immigrant and one of the pioneer pastors in the Brazilian Adventist ministry. Her father was also a pastor and pioneer, a broadcaster of the first evangelical radio program in Brazil, A Voz da Profecia (The Voice of Prophecy).²

Childhood and Education

From an early age, she was exposed to her parents’ hectic routine, which involved a lot of traveling. Due to the lack of a recording studio in Brazil between 1943 and 1961, her father had to travel to the city of Glendale, California, to record the program. Her mother occasionally accompanied him as his secretary, assisting him in tasks such as translating and typing the sermons of Pastor H.M.S. Richards, radio broadcaster of The Voice of Prophecy in the United States.³ She was baptized at age 14 by her father in 1950, in the city of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.⁴

Lucila completed her primary education at the Colégio Batista de Niterói in Rio de Janeiro. She joined the Brazilian Adventist College in 1950, where she graduated middle school and started high school. While at Brazilian Adventist College, she would be a part of the Carlos Gomes Choir, one of the first Adventist Brazilian choirs, as a soprano and a pianist. She would travel to the United States while studying in high school, which she would complete only in 1968, when her family would return to Brazil.⁵

Marriage and Family

She met her future husband, Pastor Léo Santos Ranzolin, while at middle school at Brazilian Adventist College. The two would get married on February 20, 1956, in the city of Rio de Janeiro.⁶ During the same year, they moved to the United States so that Léo could develop his studies. While there, her three sons, Léo Júnior, Luis Roberto, and Larry, were born.⁷

In 1970, the couple went once again to the United States, where her husband was appointed as associate director of Youth for the General Conference. The Ranzolin family would soon reside permanently in the U.S.A., with Léo as a member of the General Conference and Lucila as a teacher.⁸ The couple would remain together, celebrating their golden wedding anniversary in Buena Park, California, in 2006. They went on to enjoy 65 years of marriage.⁹

Ministry

While Léo served as Youth and Temperance departmental director of the Paraná-Santa Catarina Association,¹⁰ Lucila helped her husband, along with Dr. Wilson Rossi, to lead a caravan of four buses to the first and only World Youth Congress in Zurich, Switzerland, which took place between the 22nd and 26th of July 1969 and involved more than 12,000 young people.¹¹

In addition to caring for her three children and assisting her husband in his roles and constant travels, Lucila has always dedicated herself completely to Christ and His work. Among the couple’s many assignments, the most remarkable one to Lucila was a trip to Cuba in May 2000 with Maranatha Volunteers International, where more than 300 people were baptized and two churches were dedicated, one in Víbora, Havana and another in Pinar del Río.¹²

Lucila was a teacher for 30 years at Sligo Adventist School, in Takoma Park, Maryland. She specialized in teaching dyslexic children through the Orton-Gillingham language method, earning love and respect from numerous students. The school was the first in the North American Division to have a teacher who helped children with dyslexia. Throughout her life, Lucila received dozens of letters and postcards from parents and former students thanking her for teaching them to read.¹³

Legacy and Last Years

Her efforts were honored when she received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Potomac Association Department of Education for her 30 years of teaching, signed by four Potomac Association leaders; and in 2003 when, alongside her husband, she received the Spalding Medal that was given to people who have provided services to the Church in a family manner.¹⁴

In her last years, Lucila dedicated herself to her grandchildren and great-grandson, leading a quiet life. In an interview about pastors and their children, when asked about advice for pastors’ wives, she cited the importance of balancing church and family life, how to handle those who attack your husband, knowing how to share your husband with church members, react to criticism, and being an asset to your husband’s ministry, deal with difficult church members, and keep peace among the saints.¹⁵ She passed away on January 21, 2023, at 86 years of age, in Florida.¹⁶ Being granddaughter, daughter, wife, and mother of pastors, she contributed to the Adventist Church with her life, her dedication, and as a teacher in Adventist institutions for 30 years.

Sources

“Bodas de Diamante (60 anos).” Revista Adventista no. 1307 (São Paulo, March 2016). 

“Bodas de Ferro (65 anos).” Revista Adventista no. 1366 (São Paulo, February 2021). 

“Casal Ranzolin recebe a Medalha Spalding.” Revista Adventista no. 7 (São Paulo, July 2003).

Dabrowski, Ray. “Igreja em Cuba celebra crescimento contínuo.” Adventist News (June 1st, 2000). https://adventist.news/pt/news/igreja-em-cuba-celebra-crescimento-continuo-1.

Dubreuze, Libny H. “Exclusive Interview with Elder Leo Ranzolin.” Increase (March 2003).

Dubreuze, Sara A. “Q&A: Interview with Mrs. Lucila Ranzolin.” Increase (March 2003).

Léo Ranzolin, interviewed by Melissa Querido, Centro de Pesquisas Ellen G. White: UNASP campus Engenheiro Coelho, São Paulo, February 13, 2024.

“Líder Brasileiro Analisa a Igreja de Nossos Dias.” Revista Adventista no. 6 (São Paulo, June 1989). 

Lima, Renato; Monteiro, Miryan. A Voz da Profecia Uma Voz de Esperança (Comunicação Social - Universidade do Vale do Paraíba, São Paulo, 2014). 

“Morre em Curitiba o Pastor Roberto Rabello.” Revista Adventista no. 10 (São Paulo, October 1996).

“Obituaries.” Southern Tidings, May 2023. 

“Pastor Leo Ranzolin Sr. - Estero, Florida.” Protonbob (2015). https://protonbob.com/testimonials/pastor-leo-ranzolin-sr-estero-florida.

Ranzolin, Léo. Minha Vida de Pastor: cinquenta e três pastores jubilados falam de sua vida e de seu ministério. Edited by Tercio Sarli. (Campinas, SP: Certeza Editorial, 2007). 

Notes

1. “Morre em Curitiba o Pastor Roberto Rabello,” Revista Adventista no. 10, (São Paulo, October 1996): 29.↩

2. Sara A Dubreuze, “Q&A: Interview with Mrs. Lucila Ranzolin,” Increase (March 2003): 6-7.↩

3. Renato Lima, Miryan Monteiro. A Voz da Profecia Uma Voz de Esperança (Comunicação Social - Universidade do Vale do Paraíba, São Paulo, 2014): 64.↩

4. Léo Ranzolin, interviewed by Melissa Querido, Centro de Pesquisas Ellen G. White: UNASP campus Engenheiro Coelho, São Paulo, February 13, 2024.↩

5. Ibid.↩

6. Ibid.↩

7. Léo Júnior also became a pastor, obtained a doctorate in Theology, and is a university professor; Luis Roberto is an auditor and an accountant; and Larry graduated in Business Administration. Léo Ranzolin, Minha Vida de Pastor: cinquenta e três pastores jubilados falam de sua vida e de seu ministério. Edited by Tercio Sarli (Campinas, SP: Certeza Editorial, 2007): 283.↩

8. Ibid., 282.↩

9. “Bodas de Ferro (65 anos),” Revista Adventista,no. 1366 (São Paulo, February 2021): 10.↩

10. Léo Ranzolin, Minha Vida de Pastor: cinquenta e três pastores jubilados falam de sua vida e de seu ministério. Edited by Tercio Sarli. (Campinas, SP: Certeza Editorial, 2007): 281-283.↩

11. Léo Ranzolin, interviewed by Melissa Querido, Centro de Pesquisas Ellen G. White: UNASP campus Engenheiro Coelho, São Paulo, February 13, 2024; Libny H. Dubreuze, “Exclusive Interview with Elder Leo Ranzolin,” Increase (March 2003): 10.↩

12. Léo Ranzolin, interviewed by Melissa Querido, Centro de Pesquisas Ellen G. White: UNASP campus Engenheiro Coelho, São Paulo, February 13, 2024; Ray Dabrowski, “Igreja em Cuba celebra crescimento contínuo,” Adventist News (June 1st, 2000); Sara A. Dubreuze, “Q&A: Interview with Mrs. Lucila Ranzolin,” Increase (March 2003): 5-6.↩

13. Léo Ranzolin, interviewed by Melissa Querido, Centro de Pesquisas Ellen G. White: UNASP campus Engenheiro Coelho, São Paulo, February 13, 2024.↩

14. Ibid.; “Casal Ranzolin recebe a Medalha Spalding,” Revista Adventista no. 7 (São Paulo, July 2003): 34.↩

15. Léo Ranzolin, interviewed by Melissa Querido, Centro de Pesquisas Ellen G. White: UNASP campus Engenheiro Coelho, São Paulo, February 13, 2024; Sara A. Dubreuze, “Q&A: Interview with Mrs. Lucila Ranzolin,” Increase (March 2003): 7.↩

16. “Obituaries,” Southern Tidings, May 2023, 35-36.↩