Darrel Duane Branum

After a stunningly short but intense battle with lung and bone cancer, Darrel Duane Branum passed away peacefully on April 5, 2022. His fight was courageous and faith-filled, and his strength inspired all who knew him.

Duane was born January 15, 1945, in Wellington, Texas.  His family moved to Lubbock via a short time in Abilene. He attended all grades in Lubbock, graduated from Monterey High School, and attended Texas Tech University.  Duane grew up knowing the ways of a West Texas man.  He was actively involved in Boy Scouts, wood shop, and in FFA where he raised pigs, vegetables, and wore boots and a hat. However, the cowboy in him didn’t keep him from enjoying his red MG convertible and traveling around with his sidekick and only sibling, his little sister, Becky.  During high school, Duane always worked hard at the jobs he had to earn his spending money and had great times as he enjoyed his close friends.  With a fellow student at his 50th graduation reunion, he reminisced about how they all went dancing every Friday night in the youth building at the Lutheran Church.  The summer after high school, he plowed, planted and harvested a few acres of tomatoes, learning some challenging and valuable lessons for life!

He joined the Air Force and was soon sent to Okinawa, Japan, and then Germany.  While in Germany, he became a proficient skier, and was recruited into the U.S. Air Force Ski Team. Duane was always proud to be known as a U.S. Air Force veteran. Many years later he enjoyed a ski trip with his two oldest grandsons.  He never lost his great form!  On returning to Lubbock after his honorable discharge as a Staff Sergeant, Duane re-entered Texas Tech.  Shortly after his return, Duane met Jone, who had arrived in Lubbock from California to attend Tech.  Their very special chemistry was immediate!  They began dating and married 15 months later. Next December would have marked 50 years together.

Duane and Jone have three children, all born in Lubbock between 1976 and 1984.  It was in Lubbock, in 1981, as new parents and penniless, that Duane and Jone both met Jesus through the faithful, weekly, one-on-one Bible Study that lasted a year, led by neighbors, a faithful seminary couple. That relationship with Christ changed everything in their lives!  With a job change, they were transferred to Dallas, and purchased a home in Richardson in 1985. They were blessed by the most wonderful neighbors for 35 years.  Duane was an excellent salesman, always achieving top sales awards in the various companies in which he worked.  His policy was always to be honest and strive to take trustworthy care of his customers. His longest sales positions were in selling computer software to Medical Groups and Hospitals. His experience in that industry ran the spectrum from the early days when such products were very primitive and novel to a field that was increasingly advanced, competitive, and expansive.

In retirement, Duane began doing what he always enjoyed most: fixing things!  He became a Handyman!  He earned a reputation as a local, reliable, and honest man who did excellent work.  His customers became friends and turned to him for help with every imaginable handyman need.  The variety in his daily work was stimulating to him and kept him excited to head out every day until his illness hit in mid-January.

The real reward for his hard work, however, was his weekly golf game with his golfing buddies; friends from the Prestonwood Bible Study class, and other friends as well.  Between his golf, the Saturday morning men’s breakfast at Whataburger, the men’s Monday night Bible Study that he hosted for over 10 years, and the Bible Study class at Prestonwood, Duane loved the fellowship with his good friends and brothers in Christ.

Duane and Jone were blessed with wonderful trips during their marriage, and Duane always enjoyed a spontaneous outing. They were never bored with life together!  The dearest loves of his life, in addition to Jone, were his three children, their spouses, and their 16 grandchildren.  Duane was always a loving family man. His love for Jesus, his faithful church attendance, and his fellowship with Christ-followers were the very things used by God to help him keep his focus, his values, and the fullness of joy. He will be deeply missed by all.

He is survived by his wife, Jone; son, Kelsey Branum (Susan); daughters, Kathryn Glance (Jesse “Bucky”) and Kimberly Lewis (John) and grandchildren Timothy, Micah, Corrie, Stephen, Christopher, Eliana, Korban, Kylee Wallace, Harrison Wallace, Logan Wallace, Kason Glance, Connor Glance, Ethan Glance, Evie, Emma and Eliza.

There will be a Funeral Service at 2:00 pm on Friday, April 8, 2022 at Faith Chapel of Prestonwood Baptist Church, 6801 W. Park Boulevard, Plano, Texas 75093.

Burial will be at 9:15 am on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, with military honors, at Dallas Ft. Worth National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, Texas 75211.