George Brammer

George Franklin Brammer went to heaven Wednesday, June 24, 2015, at the age of 88. He died from complications of pulmonary fibrosis. He was surrounded by his loving family.

George F. Brammer was born early on a Sunday morning, Oct. 10, 1926, at home in Gifford to Otto W. and Goldia Elizabeth Mae Hill Brammer. He was the second of six children. On the following Sunday, his grandmother, Anna Riggers Brammer, fearing that his health was somewhat precarious, insisted that he be baptized. The five-mile journey from Gifford to Good Hope Lutheran Church was made by horse and buggy.

He attended the Gifford School all 12 years, graduating in 1944 as valediction of a class of five. One of his strong interests, even as a child, was farming. He was active in farming operations at a young age, assisting his father even when horses were used. At the age of 6, his job on a five-horse binder team was to ride on the center horse. He would encourage any horse whose name was called out by his father as a slacker by giving that horse a sharp swat with a willow switch.

By his mid-teens, he was driving a tractor on a fairly regular basis, always working summer fallow and seeding rape, since those jobs occurred during harvest when the regular employees were harvesting.

He enjoyed sports, baseball and especially basketball. He was fortunate to have Arthur Dawald, whom he greatly admired, for his freshman basketball coach, who taught him the fundamentals of the sport. In 1944, his senior year, the Gifford High School team, consisting of seven players, won the district tournament at Lewiston, defeating the Kendrick Tigers, 16-8. The state tournament was divided into north and south divisions as a wartime travel-saving measure. Kendrick later defeated Gifford 24 to 16 to win the North Idaho Championship.

On July 1, 1944, he joined the Navy Officer Training Program called V-12. This was located at the University of Idaho Southern Branch at Pocatello. In January 1946, he transferred from the NROTC program to the regular Navy. He served until July 1946, when he was honorably discharged. At this time he resumed farming, working for his father for two years before beginning his own separate farming operation.

On April 10, 1947, he married Leah Jean Harlow. They were the parents of six children, Susan, Paula, Peggy, Anne (stillborn), Pamela and George. This marriage ended in divorce. He married Jacquline Meier Crow on Nov. 27, 1968. Two children, Traci and Scotty, were born from this marriage. They joined Jackie's six children from her prior marriage.

He was active in the Wheat Growers Association, serving as the state president in the mid-1970s. He participated in the Pea and Lentil Growers Association, serving as treasurer several years before being appointed and later elected to the Pea and Lentil Commission. He was especially concerned with conservation practices and installed many miles of field drainage tile and built many small dams for erosion control on his farm. He was named outstanding conversation farmer by Nez Perce Soil and Water Conservation District. The Lewiston Chamber of Commerce Agricultural Committee named him Outstanding Farm Citizen in 1993. He was actively engaged in the daily operations of the farm until his passing. For 80-plus years, farming was his passion, his career, his hobby and his way of life.

An avid sportsman, he enjoyed hunting, golfing, snow skiing and even played church league basketball into his mid-60s. He was a lifelong member of the Lutheran Church, participating in church activities and serving his community. As a devoutly faithful man, he always saw the best in everybody. He was devoted to his family, faith and farming.

He is survived by his loving wife, Jackie at the family farm; children Traci (John), Scotty (Marcia), Susan (Larry), Paula, Peggy, Pamela and George; stepchildren Mario, LaLoni (Cliff), Andrio (Molly), LaLisa (Dusty), LaLea (Mark) and LaLita; 19 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren; and sisters Louise Varunok and Donna Ockert.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Otto and Goldia Brammer; infant twin brothers; infant daughter, Anne; and sister, Marjorie McCoy.

A celebration of George's life will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Trinity Lutheran Church, 920 Eighth Ave., Lewiston. An interment will follow at 5 p.m. at Good Hope Lutheran Church, 28157 Settlement Road, Gifford.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to Good Hope Lutheran Church.