Harry W. Branson

Harry Winfred Branson, 83, of Dayton, Ohio, passed away on May 16, 2025. He was born to Harry James Branson and Winifred Ilene (May) Branson on March 21,1942, in Holly, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Marilyn Faye (Branson) Miller.

Harry is survived by his wife, Sandra Jean (Rust) Branson; two daughters, Judy (Branson) Cambigue, and her husband, Bruce, and Jacque (Branson) Smith, and her husband, Mark; and four grandchildren, Annika and Tobin Cambigue, and Branson and Harrison Smith.

After his childhood in Detroit, Michigan, Harry’s family moved to Fletcher, North Carolina, in 1956. He graduated from Fletcher Academy in 1960 and married his high school sweetheart, Sandra, on September 22, 1963.

After the births of Judy and Jacque, the Bransons moved to Virginia. In 1982, prioritizing Seventh-day Adventist education for their daughters, Harry uprooted his Virginia-based building business, and moved the family to Collegedale, Tennessee, where both girls could live at home and attend Adventist schools through college.

Self-employed through most of his career, Harry built a solid reputation as a trusted contractor, generous mentor, and consummate problem-solver. His charisma and clever wit imbued every interaction with joy and connection.

From soothing his daughters’ teenage heartbreaks and supporting countless neighbors, friends, and even strangers to solving the family’s overheated engines through the years, Harry lent calm wisdom and a confident spirit to life’s varied complications.

Harry was always a champion of Sandra’s nursing career and dedication to motherhood. Their 62 years of marriage laid a foundation of love for their daughters and anyone lucky enough to know them.

Harry’s contagious affection for creatures of all kinds and curiosity in all things built, driven, and designed made him an unforgettable good guy who will be loved and missed always.

A memorial service for Harry will be held Friday, May 23, 2025, at 5 p.m. in the Kettering Seventh-day Adventist Church, Room S4.

To share a memory of Harry or leave a special message for his family, please visit the guestbook below.