In 1964 he met a beautiful young Hawaiian girl, Gloria Jean Kamailei Pelekai. I’m certain it must have been love at first sight because he married her just 3 months later. Before their 1st anniversary our parents had her first child.
In 1970 our dad accepted the teachings of the Gospel and was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. One year later he took his wife and 4 children to the Oakland Temple and had us all sealed, making us a forever family.
While in the Navy he earned his GED and continued his education, eventually obtaining a stationary Engineering License. He retired from the Navy in 1976 as a Chief Petty Officer.
After retiring from the Navy, dad worked at the Utah State Prison, where he started as an extra in the movie “The Executioner’s Song”. He, also worked for Loma Linda University, McDonald Douglas which became Boeing. He retired for the second time from Operating Engineers Local 12.
Our dad was a farmer for a time. He raised pigs, we had rabbits, one stubborn horse and we grew lots of vegies. He also had a worm farm.
Dad and mom have six children, from oldest to youngest they are, Lorraine Kealohilani Camacho, Sherri Lee Stone, James Robert Kelii Brannon, John Henry Hanalei Brannon, Jennifer Ann Kuulei Daniels and the youngest Richard Pelekai Brannon (1977-2024). They also have 13 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
We moved often. Northern California, Southern California, Tracy California and Hawaii for a little while, . . . but mom and dad finally settled down in a rickety little house on Dakota Avenue, in Garden Grove, CA. My dad had a way of taking the saddest looking yard and turning it into the prettiest yard on the block. They lived there for many years, as the younger of the siblings all graduated from Garden Grove High School.
At first meeting him, our dad could seem very intimidating, he was a big guy with a big presence. . . but he was a very gentle and soft-hearted man. Our dad, was faithful, honest, kind and the hardest working man I have ever known.
Dad, we love you, and we will miss you dearly.
