James Bramuchi

August 17, 2023 in Austin, TX. Kind yet strong, he lived life with a gentle confidence – treating all with the same respect. Jim was born on June 25, 1927 to Nazzareno & Mary Micci Bramuchi in Shelby, Mississippi, the sixth of seven children. In 1958, he met the love of his life, Phyllis Brandt from Pittsburgh, at a Bible Study at his home in West Palm Beach, Florida; they were engaged two weeks later and married in January of 1959. Thus began the wonderful adventure of raising seven children of their own.

Jim was a veteran of both WW II and the Korean War. He was drafted while a senior in high school into the US Navy in 1944. They saw his skills with electronics as he fixed random problems on base and placed him in radar technology, spending most of his time at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. He returned to civilian life attending the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) and once again was drafted during his senior year, this time choosing the US Air Force which allowed him to finish out his degree. His time in the USAF was primarily spent on the island of San Salvador, as Officer in Charge of a group that was honing the use of radar and telemetry to track intercontinental ballistic missiles as part of the Missile Test Project out of Patrick AFB.

Jim graduated in 1951 from Ole Miss with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. In his senior year, he was President of the Engineering School class as well as his Catholic fraternity, Theta Kappa Phi. He was also a member of A.S.C.E. (American Society of Civil Engineers), Chi Epsilon national honorary civil engineering fraternity, and the ROTC 34th Squadron.

Jim eventually went back to his civil engineering roots doing road projects in New Orleans and Mississippi before moving to West Palm Beach, FL in 1957 where he led construction projects for Arnold Construction Co. He greatly admired Mr. Arnold and this experience led Jim to form his own company with a partner, Gersch and Bramuchi Construction Co. Jim primarily focused on larger projects such as local and state government buildings, schools and retail/condominium high-rises.

Close to his heart were the two homes he built for his family: one in Lake Worth, FL where he raised his family, and a quaint cabin on the Watauga River in the Blue Ridge mountains outside of Boone, NC where he and Phyllis eventually spent their summers. Jim continued his love of building up to the week he passed constructing large dollhouses and donating to schools, churches and children’s charities. They were all “JB originals” as he couldn’t easily view the instructions, and built them as he would a full-sized home.

Throughout Jim’s life he always reached out to assist the less fortunate. He was an active member and leader of the St. Vincent de Paul Society at his church, and after he retired, he and Phyllis founded the Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County affiliate in 1986. They loved seeing families get a head-start on home ownership and financial independence.

While Jim loved building, tinkering in his workshop, and for many years flying missions for Civil Air Patrol, his true treasures were his faith and his family. His faith, instilled in him by his parents as a young boy was evidenced through his participation in two Catholic organizations during college, being a founding member of and parishioner for 56 years at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Lantana FL, hosting prayer groups in his home, and participating for numerous years with the sisters of the Cenacle Retreat House in Lantana. He and Phyllis attended daily Mass together particularly in their later years, and in his final few years, he never missed the evening rosary led by his daughters, Terri and Jamie. In addition to playing hymns on the harmonica to close out each rosary, he also played at the weekly Communion service at his assisted living residence. We will greatly miss his beautiful tone on that instrument, followed by the random complaint about how one hole or another is plugged up.

Jim is preceded in death by his wife Phyllis, his parents, Nazzareno and Mary Micci Bramuchi, and his siblings Pete, Natalina, Delmo, Joe and Max. He is survived by his seven children/seventeen grandchildren: Rosemary “Mimi” and Gary Graser of Austin, TX; Jamie and Dale Easley (Ananda/Brian, Tessie) of Dubuque, IA; Terri and Mark Tanski (Tom, Mark, Samantha, Emily) of Arcadia, MI; Susan and TK Krupa (Nick/Kat, Jake) of Atlantis, FL; Robert (Anthony, Brandon/Jordan, Ryan, Danielle, Hunter) of Jacksonville, FL; Joseph and Christine (Jack, Charlie) of Orlando FL; and Becky and Tom Montague (Zachary, Nathan) of Marietta, GA; and is survived by twelve great-grandchildren: Colton, Summer, Hailey, John, Braylen, Brently, Juliette, Giovanni, Armani, Isabella, Gage and Noelle. He is also survived by his sister Rose McConnell of Mt. Pleasant, SC and a host of dearly loved nieces and nephews.

A funeral Mass and celebration of life will be held in Lantana, FL at Holy Spirit Catholic Church on Saturday, September 30, 2023 at 10:00am.

The family would like to thank the staff at the Enclave at Cedar Park for the TLC they provided to both Dad and Mom and allowing Dad a “workshop” in one of their common areas. Thank you also to Suncrest Hospice for their support in our parents’ last days.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County, www.habitatpbc.org (or your local or national habitat.org) or the St. Vincent de Paul ministry of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Lantana, FL, holyspiritlantana.com or St. Thomas More Catholic Church of Austin, stmaustin.org .