Marion Kenneth Branton
February 13, 1932 – June 17, 2021
Obituary for Marion Kenneth Branton
Ken’s Beginning:
Marion Kenneth Branton was born in 1932 in White Bluff, Mississippi.
With his humble beginnings, he had to leave home and move in with his aunt to attend Columbia HS, the better of the two high schools. Little did he know that 22 years later, Walter Peyton would graduate from his high School in Columbia, MS.
Ken graduated just in time to enlist in the Marines and to ship off to the Korean War. When he got home from Korea, great things awaited Ken as he was the first in his family to attend college, LSU.
With a degree in Electrical Engineering, Ken’s passion turned to Radio Transmitters. Working for a large engineering firm, he was sent to Vietnam to help the armed services fix their radio transmission hardware. It was in Buon Ma Thuot where he met his wife of 50 years, Trang.
A good friend to all who knew him, both enlisted men and officers, when it came time in 1975 to escape Vietnam, he had a little help from his friends. On a crowded tarmac with thousands of people trying to get onto a transport plane, North VC on their heels, Ken, Trang, their 4 children Von (9), Thuy (7), Steven (3) and 2 day old Mark, neared the plane, unable to make their way through the chaotic crowd. The Co-pilot saw Ken with his family, unbuckled himself from the cockpit, reached out to Ken and pulled him and his family aboard. The plane’s payload was way over the “recommended” weight and when they took off, they barely cleared the buildings at the end of the runway. They were safe.
Good Deeds Moving his family from Mississippi to the Dallas area, he put his children in a school district that taught them English and helped integrate them into an American way of life. Trang and Ken worked hard to raise their new family, in a time when America was conflicted with the Vietnam War.
His passion of cars, of fixing things, of helping others, led Ken to create BRANTLO in 1986. Ken sold part of his land in Mississippi and he incubated Northhaven Oil and Lube. He bought the little plot of land from a Mr. Weinstein. Years later, when Mr. Weinstein begged Ken to make an additional purchase of property across the street, Ken did it, just to help Mr. Weinstein.
After a successful 20 years, he opened a second auto shop in Richardson.
Little did he know that the adjacent empty land would become a billion dollar property, housing State Farm, apartments, and retail. Chick-fil-A came in and bought out Ken.
Ken was a hardworking, selfless soul who never asked for or wanted recognition. He was a role model to – and survived by – his four children who he put through college, each of them highly successful in their own fields. Von an international project manager, Mark a highly sought after digital animator in the entertainment business, Steven, a financial consultant, and Thuy, a nurse but more importantly, the mother of two, Ken’s granddaughters Macy and Bailey Sherman.
Later:
At the pinnacle of his engineering career, radio stations would fly him all over the world to fix their towers. Whether helicoptering up to a snow capped mountain in Colorado, or on top of the Empire
State Building, Ken loved to travel. An expert in his field, people would call him at all hours of the day to troubleshoot their radio stations.
Retirement:
In his retirement, Ken would sit on his front yard bench, waiting for Macy and Bailey, his granddaughters. He loved ice cream so much, he’d encourage them to eat dessert first, then dinner!
Ken’s success came not from his business savvy, but from his honesty, his willingness to contribute, and his love of people. Ken’s life has always been guided by how he can help others. With no fanfare, no need to be noticed, never wanting to be thanked for his years of good deeds, Ken is the true “unsung hero”.
His love of home, of Mississippi, of family, of helping, is what made Marion Kenneth Branton a god send. The world is a better place because of him.
Marion Kenneth Branton is survived by his wife Trang, his four children Von, Thuy and Mark Sherman, Steven and Eric Jones, Mark and Robin Branton, his brother Jehugh and sister-in-law Billie, and grandchildren Macy and Bailey Sherman and his dog Biscuit.
A visitation will be held at Restland Funeral Home on Monday, June 21 from 3:00pm-5:00pm, 13005 Greenville Ave., Dallas, TX 75243. A funeral service will be held at Restland on Tuesday, June 22, 12:00pm.
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Upcoming Events
Celebration of Life
JUN 22. 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM (CST)
Restland Funeral Home
13005 Greenville Avenue
Dallas, TX 75243
https://www.restlandfuneralhome.com/
Cemetery Details
Restland Memorial Park
13005 Greenville Avenue
Dallas, TX 75243
Previous Events
Visitation
JUN 21. 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM (CST)
Restland Funeral Home
13005 Greenville Avenue
Dallas, TX 75243
https://www.restlandfuneralhome.com/