“Always do your best,” one of the Four Agreements, was the touchstone by which Robert “Bob” Eugene Brandon lived his life. That life was foreshortened by complications of lung cancer resulting in his death Monday, May 9, 2005, at the too-young age of 56.
Bob was born on Aug. 20, 1948, in McMinnville, Ore., and grew up in small towns and cities scattered across the nation. A lifelong lover of geography, a few of his favorite places were in the heartland of America — Dixon, Ill., and Superior, Neb., — which instilled in Bob a love of the Midwest, from whence he departed to join the Navy in 1968.
A Vietnam veteran, Bob served two tours of duty as an engineman and spent “too much” time on tin cans. Mechanical ability was only one skill that came to him easily. Carpentry, its art forms woodcarving and whittling, antique furniture restoration and horticulture were other passions Bob indulged. His love of old trucks and Harley Davidsons was well-rooted, but Bob reserved his deepest passion for children, and his life was enriched by the many boys and girls who met and loved him. He was always ready to drop everything to play trucks, lead his small friends on nature expeditions, coach a team or act as father confessor and sage counselor.
Stemming from his love of anthropology and archaeology in college, Bob relished his job at the San Diego Museum of Man in San Diego. As the building superintendent, he was in charge of maintaining and decorating everything from floor level up 30 feet, which precluded the famous bell tower, but, since he had keys to everything, special friends were treated to splendid views of Balboa Park from its summit.
Bob built his own home on Whidbey Island in 1992, and completed two more houses with help from a few friends. He later went to work for two of those friends, first as a hairdresser at P S Hair Design in Coupeville, and then as an asphalt laborer for Island Asphalt in Clinton. Whatever the task at hand, Bob was known to “always do his best.”
Bob was preceded in death by his father, Anthony G. Brandon, brother Patrick H. Brandon and niece Teena Renée Brandon. He is survived by his wife, Becky Prichard Brandon, and stepson Zachary, of the family home in Coupeville, along with her sisters and their extended families; his mother, Doris Maupin, brother, Joseph Brandon, and sister, Molly B Goodyear, all of Lincoln, Neb.; his sister and brother-in-law, Mary Ann and Dick Oswald, of Mesquite, Texas; his brother and sister-in-law, Michael and Melainie Brandon, of Omaha, Neb.; nephews Tony Lee, Justin, Michael, Joseph and Patrick Brandon; nieces Tammy Brandon, Jessica Brandon and Krista Bishop; grandnieces Baileigh and Alexis Schwitzer and Kyana Hubbard; grandnephew Trenton Hubbard; his aunt Sharon Hansen, her husband Ray and their family; his aunt Mollie Bernier, her husband Frank and their family; his uncle Floyd Carter and family; his uncle George, wife Mary Lou Carter and their family; his first wife, Sandey Brandon, her parents Karl and Dorothy Goodwalt, all of Coupeville; and the many loving friends he met along life’s path.
No services will be held. Burley Funeral Chapel handled cremation and commingling of the ashes with Bob’s devoted canine friend, Buckeroo Brandon. As in life, Bob will continue to be well-traveled. It was his wish that he return to the prairies he so loved — here in Ebey’s Preserve and in Nebraska.
