Richard "Dick" E. Brannon

Dick Brannon, a long-time Missoula area landscaper, passed away Wednesday, May 16, 2018. Dick was born October 28, 1956, the 8th of 15 children to Daniel Thomas (Dan) Brannon and Anne Lorraine (Bickerstaff) Brannon. (He often lamented being the true “middle” child)! He attended St. Mary’s Catholic School and Great Falls Public Schools, graduating in 1975.After working for a couple of years at Arios and Hoglund’s Western Wear, he met and married a fellow horse-lover, Patty Tucker, of Stevensville. They moved to Missoula, bought some horses, and settled down. He began, what he thought would be a career, working evenings at Champion International. After a decade, he and Patty divorced. Upon the lumber mill’s closure, Dick achieved a lifetime goal and opened his own business of lawn and landscaping. He had a strong work ethic and decided to add snow removal to his list of services. He was inspired being outdoors and was proud of the work he did beautifying yards and businesses. He was also an excellent hunter and especially enjoyed Phillipsburg and the Frog Pond family cabin. Anyone who knew Dick knew that he loved to fish and he was quick to tell you that the fish he had caught was so big that even the picture weighed seven pounds or more! In 1990, Dick met Michelle in Helena and the two began to enjoy life adventures with one another, doing what they both loved. In 1993, Dick and Michelle were blessed to become parents to a precious little girl, R Nikohl Mitchell, now of Belgrade. He always cherished her and delighted in her spunk and zest for life. No one in attendance was more proud of their child than he was when R Nikohl graduated from Montana State University in 2016. He was her biggest supporter and loved her deeply. Dick was preceded in death by his grandparents, Jay and Lena Brannon of Waterloo, IA and Joe and Ann Bickerstaff of Anaconda; his parents, Dan and Lorraine Brannon, of Great Falls; and brothers: James Joseph Brannon (Terri) of Davenport, FL, Patrick George (Lynda) Brannon of East Helena, and Anthony Ignatius Brannon of Great Falls. Dick is survived by his daughter, R Nikohl Mitchell of Belgrade; his sisters, Nina Ballatore, Phil (Gene) Shalz, Patricia (Andrew) Gondeiro, Shirley (Michael) Thomson and Cathy (Alan) Frohberg all of Great Falls, Mary Carroll of Phoenix, AZ, and Ruth (Chico) Benevides of East Helena, and brothers Daniel Thomas “Tom,” Jr. (Joan) Brannon of Wolf Creek, Charles (Chris) Brannon of Bloomsburg, PA, Frank (Cindy) Brannon of Berwick, PA, and Kerrigan Brannon of Lakeland, FL. He will be greatly missed by family and good friends, Ross and Paula Grenfell and Patrick "Skippy" Erbacher. A funeral service will be held Tuesday, May 29, 2018 at 11:00 a.m., at Victory Christian Church, 3220 11th Avenue South, Great Falls, Montana. Burial at Mount Olivet Cemetery will follow. Schnider Funeral Home is handling arrangements.