Millis Dwane Branscum
Obituaries
Daily Sentinel page 3D - June 7, 2020
Millis Dwane
Branscum
June 4, 1930 - March 8, 2020
Millis Dwane Branscum died
on March 8, 2020. He was born
in Oklahoma on June 4, 1930,
to Rosetta Mae and Herbert
Branscum, who called him
Dwane. He grew up in Yampa,
Colorado, and showed an early
aptitude as a mechanic. Autos
were his lifelong passion. He
started driving at ten and fixing cars at 11. He stopped tinkering
only after he suffered a stroke, his second, in December 2019.
Dwane was 19 when he married his first wife, Robbie. He had a
brief, honorable stint in the Air Force. He also worked on a railroad
and in a chemical plant, cut grapes with his family in California,
repaired home appliances professionally, and drove a commercial
truck. At 42, Dwane married his second wife, Juanita, and started
a new family.
A restless man, he ping-ponged between California and Colorado
over the years but spent the latter part of his life in Grand Junction.
“Don’t borrow worry, borrow money,” he sometimes said. Dwane
claimed he came up with the original idea for the pet rock. When
a stranger he met in a California bar asked to use the idea, Dwane
said yes; the stranger became a millionaire.
On Memorial Day 2019, Dwane shared his home and his oxygen
with a homeless man who was ill. He was afraid the man would die
without it. Dwane often opened his home to strangers and delighted
in handing out dollar coins to people he met. He loved his family
even if he did not always know how to show it. Until his death
Dwane remained in love with his third ex-wife, Joyce.
In addition to Joyce, Dwane is survived by many who cared about
him. They include his Colorado-born nieces, Cathy and Candace;
brother, Frankie, and sister, Bonnie Sue; daughters, Deborah,
Anna, and Renae; grandchildren, Bianca, Gilbert, and Disa; greatgrandchildren, Richard and Riley, and housemates, Mark and
Teresa. His older brother, John Hulen, preceded him in death.
Many people in Grand Junction were fond of Millis, as they
knew him, and he was fond of them. They include his neighbors;
his friend, Chuck; two favorite USPS employees, Stephanie and
Tina; Brittany, Hannah, and Jeff Chandler at State Farm; Deseray
and others at the North Avenue Wells Fargo; Angela and others
at the Catholic Outreach Soup Kitchen; the women at The Nickel
who helped him place ads; employees at Walmart on North Avenue;
staff at AutoZone, and a kind woman at Bookcliff Gas & Groceries.
His family thanks Candace and Cathy; his housemates and those
above; staff at the VA Hospital and Saint Mary’s; staff at La Villa
Grande, including Lily, Joe, the social workers, and kitchen workers;
HopeWest Hospice staff, especially Judy, Klover, and Windi, and
everyone else who helped Millis Dwane Branscum over the years.
You made a difference in his life and in his death; we appreciate it.
For information about his future memorial service, please email
millis.memorial@gmail.com or leave a message a
