Donald Lee Brannon died on Tuesday, March 29, 2011. He was 85.

Donald was born Aug. 3, 1925, in Imma Township, Illinois, to the late Harry C. Brannon and Hazel (Cutchin) Brannon. He was raised from infancy in Evansville, Indiana and attended Benjamin Bosse High School, graduating Class of 1943. While at Bosse, he played on a championship football team his junior year, and was awarded the Kiwanis MVP award his senior year. He entered the U.S. Army Air Forces in December 1943, served two-and-a-half years and was discharged as Sergeant with the 434th Troop Carrier Command as a Radar Tech/Operator. After serving in the military, Mr. Brannon enrolled at the University of Evansville (formerly Evansville College), where he earned his BSEE in 1951 and earned two monograms in Varsity Tennis. In college, he met Helen L. Bollinger, who he married in September of 1950 at St. Benedict's Cathedral in Evansville.

He worked for IBM and Electronics Res. Inc. in Evansville, Indiana before relocating to Glen Burnie, Maryland in 1956, where he was employed for 33 years at Westinghouse Electric Corporate Defense Center, holding various engineering and management positions. He retired from Westinghouse in 1989 as a Radar Engineering Manager in the Avionics Division.

Don was an avid golfer for 55 years and a 15 year resident member of Prospect Bay Country Club in Grasonville, Maryland. He was also a lifelong philatelist, or stamp collector, with a world-wide collection of some 35,000 issues and a US-Canadian collection of over 4,500 (mostly mint) issues.

He was preceded in death by his sister, Marilyn Pearson. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Helen Brannon; 10 children, Donald Patrick Brannon and his wife Deborah of St. Croix, VI, Barbara Ahalt of Cape Cod, MA, Steven Kerry Brannon and his wife Denise of Millersville, Margaret (Peggy) Hankins and her husband Scott of Macon, GA, Diane Listorti and her husband Mike of Stevensville, Melissa Anne Brannon of Tucson, AZ, David Anthony Brannon and his wife Cherie of Houston, TX, Kevin Eugene Brannon and his wife Ellen of Grasonville, Bruce Michael Brannon and his wife Michelle of Glen Burnie, and Bianca Brannon-Horney and her husband Brian of Stevensville; 16 grandchildren, Cyrus Ahalt, Katie Ahalt, Blake Ahalt, Sean Brannon, Ryan Brannon, Brandon Clyde, Ashleigh Clyde, Rochelle Brannon, Joshua Brannon, Bradley Brannon, Gabrielle Brannon, Levi Brannon, Max Brannon, Tyler Brannon, Abigail Brannon-Horney and Cole Horney; sister, Dorothy Brannon; and numerous cousins in Indiana and Illinois.

Family will receive relatives and friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 31 at Fellows, Helfenbein & Newnam Funeral Home, 408 S. Liberty St., Centreville, MD. A Mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 1 at St. Christopher's Catholic Church, 1861 Harbor Drive, Chester, MD. Interment will follow the service at Eastern Shore Veterans Cemetery in Hurlock, MD. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Hospice of Queen Anne's Inc., 205 Comet Drive, Centreville, MD 21617.

March 30, 2011
Our thoughts and prayers are with you all. Praying for God's comfort to carrying you through this very difficult time.
Love, Doug & Donna Judy

March 30, 2011
We will keep your family in our thoughts and prayers.
Bob & Michele Sweeney

March 30, 2011
Our thoughts are with your family during this difficult time.
Love, Marty and Kathy Lowry

March 31, 2011
May the love of friends and family carry you through your grief.
Kathy Bennett, Glen Burnie, Maryland

April 18, 2011
Don came to many reunions
from Maryland before he became ill, played football for Bosse and retired as a Radar
Engineer and manager from Westinghouse. He was very loyal and it was always good to see Don and his wife, Helen, when they came back to Evansville.
Bill Cladwell