On October 7, 2024, Robert Barry “Bob” Brannen Sr. passed away in the most fitting way for a man who loved Statesboro, Ga., and the land of Bulloch County, which he called “God’s Country”: driving a bulldozer on his farm.
He struggled with health issues for over a decade. He would spend a week in the hospital in Savannah, and the next day he would be on a tractor or backhoe or bulldozer at the farm because “there was work that had to be done.” He prided himself on being a hard worker, and worked tirelessly to the end.
Bob was born on February 23, 1938, to Aulbert and Lingo Brannen, a farmer and a teacher. He attended Riverside Military Academy, in Gainesville, Ga., where he played football, and earned a football scholarship to Tulane University in New Orleans, La. There, his life changed forever when he fell in love at first sight with a raven-haired New Orleans debutante who would become his future wife, Sylvia Seiferth Brannen. They married on December 31, 1959, and were blessed with four children.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his beloved wife of 63 years, Sylvia; and his brother and sister-in-law, Aulbert and Teresa Brannen.
Bob is survived by his sister, Jane Brannen Anderson (Bill); his children, Robert "Rob" Brannen Jr. (Colleen), Fr. Brett Brannen, Sylvia Thomas and Jamie Brannen (Ashley); grandchildren, Bronte Brannen, Elise Brannen, Bayne Brannen (Rebecca), Pierce Brannen, Mary Kate Ware (Jackson), Brett Thomas, Stone Thomas, Ashley Ann Howell (Luke), Lindsey Boyd (Walker) and Alec Brannen; and great-grandchildren, Henry Howell and Walker Ware.
Bob was a devoted father and grandfather, known to all as Daddy-Bob. He loved his family more than anything and he loved “holding court” on the back porch of his home on Country Club Road with family and friends. He could tell stories for hours, and some of them were true. He may have been prone to exaggeration (often several in a single sentence). He had many sayings that were special to him, and his kids compiled a booklet of Bob-isms for his 80th birthday, though several are not appropriate for mixed company.
He operated many businesses throughout his life, including Brannen Farms and Brannen’s Tobacco Warehouses in Georgia and Bowling Green, Ky., and had many lifelong employees that he loved and who loved him.
He ran tobacco auctions like a vaudeville show, balancing the business side with the personal side in a warehouse filled with tobacco and its distinctive scent, farmers, auctioneers, tobacco buyers and workers. There he was truly in his element.
His love of football extended to hauling dirt to build the football field at Bulloch Academy and walking the sidelines when his kids played with a group of dads known as the “Dirty Dozen”. The Dirty Dozen cussed the BA Gators to state championships in ’78 (alongside Bob’s close friend and team chaplain, Fr. Larry Lucree).
Later, Bob became a big supporter of the Georgia Southern Eagles and spent that energy tailgating and attending Eagles' games.
For about three decades, he had a breakfast group at Snooky’s restaurant that talked football, politics and life every morning … eventually they formed their own PAC.
He raised Tennessee Walking Horses at his “Pony Farm” and he loved quail hunting with his bird dogs. And for a season of his life, he played golf with his golf buddies at Forest Heights, including his good friend, Erk Russell.
He was a proud Sigma Chi and received the Semi-Century Sig Award for being a 50-year alumni.
He attended church every Sunday with his wife at St. Matthew Catholic Church and continued attending after her passing, where he had a special group of friends. He said his prayers every morning with his coffee and read his Bible and devotional book.
Special thanks to his caregivers, Peggy Clark, Shairlon Brinson and Stephanie Nixon; his beloved friend and bookkeeper, James Byrd; his great friend and mechanic, Gerald Sparks; and his friends at Mike Waters’ farm who always watched out for him.
Bob was a truly one-of-a-kind character, and he is best described by one of his favorite Bobisms: “I’ve been to five countries, all 50 states, three World’s Fairs, two billy goat breedings, a rooster fight and a snake milking, and I ain’t ever come across nothing like you!”
Visitation will be at Joiner-Anderson Funeral Home in Statesboro on Friday, October 11, 2024, from 4-6 p.m. There will be a brief Scripture service and rosary at 6 p.m.
The funeral mass will be at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Statesboro on Saturday, October 12th, at 10 a.m. with burial to follow at Eastside Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please send remembrances to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at https://pages.lls.org/ltn/sav/Savannah24/inmemoryofdaddybob; or to St. Matthew’s Catholic Church at 221 John Paul Avenue, Statesboro, GA 30458 or http://tinyurl.com/bobbrannen.
Friends may sign the online register book at www.joineranderson.com.
Joiner-Anderson Funeral Home and Crematory of Statesboro is in charge of the arrangements.
Statesboro Herald, October 10, 2024
Sign the Legacy online guestbook at www.statesboroherald.com.