Leon Brauning

Leon Brauning

Jan. 17, 1942 - Oct. 27, 2023

NAPA - Leon Brauning, a former Army captain and Vietnam veteran who worked in the Napa real estate industry for fifty years and was known for his candor and fairness, died October 27, 2023, of a stroke. He was 81.

As a real estate broker, appraiser, and investor, Leon enjoyed putting deals together, and he almost always had one in the works. In business and in life, he was direct; if you wanted an honest answer to a question, he was the one to ask. He was also known for being headstrong, some might say ornery. Leon was a forty-year Rotarian and a former president of the St. Helena Rotary. He was founder of the Napa Valley Taxpayer's Association, which ruffled a few feathers for its anti-tax crusading. Born Leon Ruben Brauning on January 17, 1942, in Omaha, he moved with his parents, Oliver and Edna Brauning, to Phoenix and then settled in Southern California, where Oliver was employed in the aerospace industry.

Leon grew up in Hawthorne, CA, and graduated from Leuzinger High School in Lawndale in 1959. He didn't talk much about his growing-up years but did reminisce about taking apart a car or two in the family driveway, just to see how things worked. Leon enlisted in the Army in 1959. He graduated Officer Candidate School at the US Army Artillery and Missile School in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in May of 1962 as 2nd Lieutenant, Candidate graduating class, 3-62, 8th Battalion, 4th Field Artillery. Leon was an artillery captain and fought in the Vietnam war in Dong Ha from August, 1967 to August, 1968. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal along with several other commendations, conduct, and service medals. He was honorably discharged in September, 1968. He attended El Camino College, where he received his Associate degree, and California State University, Long Beach, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in economics.

Leon had five children, Sherri, Denise, Michael, Jennifer and Daniel and two step-children, Courtney Young and Michael Gaw. He was an amateur coin collector for a number of years. He enjoyed riding motorcycles, skiing in the Sierra Nevada, and boating, whether waterskiing on Lake Tahoe or Lake Berryessa or sailing in various locales in Southern California. Leon married Judi Gaw in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in 1999. Leon and Judi travelled the world many times over for weeks and months on end. As much as he loved the escapism, freedom, and excitement of travel and exploring new places, Leon welcomed returning to their quiet home on the edge of Napa with its outdoor living area and swimming pool. Here, he would reacquaint himself with the family pets and his routines and Judi's delicious meals. In recent years, he met with a small neighborhood group, a men's club, on Mondays.

Survivors include Leon's wife, Judi Brauning; brother, Richard Brauning; children: Daniel Brauning, Jennifer Fugate (Brauning), Denise LaBossiere, and Sherri Amaro; step-children: Michael Gaw and Courtney Young (Gaw); all of their spouses, numerous grandchildren, step-grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Leon was preceded in death by his son, Michael; and his parents, Oliver and Edna Brauning.

A private burial will be held at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon.