Alfred (Al) Lee Branch, Jr. passed away peacefully at his home on the morning of Thursday, June 14, 2018, in Granbury, Texas, at the age of 69.
His graveside service was 2 p.m. Tuesday, June 19, 2018, in Ryan Chapel Cemetery, in Diboll, Texas. Visitation was from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, June 18, 2018, at Wiley Funeral Home, in Granbury.
Al was born at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Houston, Texas, to parents, Alfred Lee, Sr. and Mattie Mae. He met his first wife and high school sweetheart, Janice Barrett through the marching band at Galena Park High School. Once married, Jan and Al moved to College Station, Texas, where Al graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University.
While attending college, he and Janice had their first child, Lori Peterson Branch. After graduation, the family of three moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where Al began his 40 year career with the Corps of Engineers. During his first year of work, Janice and Al had their second child, Alfred Lee Branch III.
With their family expanding, they moved to Burleson and had their third child, Matthew Parker Branch, followed by Amber Michelle Branch a year later.
In 1980, the family of six moved to Walnut Creek, Calif. to obtain Al's Masters of Geotechnical Engineering from the University of California Berkley. He graduated with honors at the top of his class in 1981.
Al moved his family back to Burleson, where he continued to work for the Corps of Engineers. As his career advanced, he began working at the Corps Division offices in Dallas and, then, to the Corp of Engineers Headquarters in Washington D.C. In 1998, while working in D.C. he lost Janice to a long battle with lupus and cancer.
As his career continued to progress, he met Anita Wickline, a Virginia Tech educated Geotechnical Engineer, who worked for the Corps in their Huntington, West Virginia office. Al and Anita, sharing a common love of engineering, outdoors, cats, and family, quickly fell in love and wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.
On June 3, 2000, Al and Anita were married at Southeast Church of Christ, in Houston, Texas, with his mother, Maddie Mae; sister, Carolyn; children, Lori, Lee, Matt and Amber; along with his first grandchildren, Bryce and Gwendolyn Branch in attendance.
Al and Anita lived in Kentucky, where Al eventually retired from his job as the Chief of Engineering - Construction Division in Huntington, West Virginia.
Upon retiring, he and Anita moved to Granbury, Texas, where they, along with their cat, Tucker, designed and created their dream home. They lived happily there for 15 years.
In 2005, Al was called back to work after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast; his expertise was crucial in the levee rebuild.
Alfred Lee Branch could be found around his house playing and loving on his cats which was one of his favorite things. Anyone who knew Al has at one time had a conversation with him about his guns, which he built lock, stock and barrel. He bought and sold guns and spent this last couple of years refurbishing and building them.
He is preceded in death by his father, Alfred Lee Branch, Sr.; mother, Mattie Mae Branch; and wife, Janice Lorene Branch.
Survivors include his wife, Anita Branch; children, Lori Peterson, Lee Branch, and Matt and Amber Branch; his two sisters, Carolyn Brooks, and Pat Cook; grandchildren, Bryce, Gwendolyn, Ann-Marie, Lindsay, Maddie, and Corbin Branch, and Nicole and Nina Peterson.
Wiley Funeral Home, in Granbury, handled the arrangements. 817-573-3000