1922
Don
2009
Don Bramley
October 26, 1922 — July 16, 2009
Don Bliss Bramley, 86, passed away on July 16, 2009. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. at D.W.
Newcomers’s Sons Overland Park Chapel, 8201 Metcalf. A private family memorial service and
inurnment will take place at the Village Presbyterian Church Columbarium.
Don was born October 26, 1922, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Lester and Louise Bramley. His parents
predeceased him as did his brothers, Lester Carl Bramley, Bruce Lee Bramley and Neal Lawrence
Bramley.
Don attended school in East Aurora, New York. He began his studies in engineering at Brown
University in Providence, Rhode Island, but he interrupted his studies in 1942 to volunteer for military
service when he joined the Army Aviation Cadet Program. He graduated from that program as a Second
Lieutenant fighter pilot. Don served in Italy during World War II, flying 44 combat missions with the
350th Fighter Group’s Screaming Red Ass Squadron. He was awarded numerous flying medals and the
Purple Heart. Following his discharge from military service in 1945, Don returned to Brown University
where he earned a BS in mechanical engineering in 1948.
Don married Nancy Ann Faber, his high school sweetheart and the love of his life, on June 22, 1946.
They moved to Kansas City in 1950, where they lived except for brief stays in Omaha and Tulsa.
Don was regional sales manager for Cooper-Bessemer Corporation from 1960 until his retirement in
1987. He subsequently was chief executive of Bramley Company for 9 years, providing consulting and
manufacturer representative services to Cooper.
Don was a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Dwight Cowles American
Legion Post, a past member of Milburn Golf and Country Club, and a member of the Village Church
where he volunteered with the food pantry program.
Don participated in two bowling leagues and played golf regularly. Those who knew Don will
remember him as a meticulous statistician and record-keeper who kept at his fingertips records of his
bowling leagues dating back to 1960. He only recently retired his 60-year-old bowling shoes.
Don will be remembered as being passionate about sports, arts, music , and travel. However, his
greatest passion was his family. He was a loving husband, a steadfast father, and a generous
grandfather.
Don is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Ann and Terry Wynne of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, his
daughter, Nancy Diane "Debe" Bramley of Leawood, Kansas, and his grandchildren, Cristen Wynne
Barnett and her husband, Bob, of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Andrew Wynne of Fayetteville, Arkansas.
He was greatly loved and will be missed by all.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials may be made to The Village Church, 6641 Mission
Road, Prairie Village, Kansas 66208.
The family expresses its deepest gratitude to Don's doctors and medical care providers and
especially to the loving hearts at Kansas City Hospice House.
Fond memories and condolences may be left for the family at www.dwnewcomers.com. Arrangements are by the D.W. Newcomer's Sons Overland Park Chapel.
Newcomers’s Sons Overland Park Chapel, 8201 Metcalf. A private family memorial service and
inurnment will take place at the Village Presbyterian Church Columbarium.
Don was born October 26, 1922, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Lester and Louise Bramley. His parents
predeceased him as did his brothers, Lester Carl Bramley, Bruce Lee Bramley and Neal Lawrence
Bramley.
Don attended school in East Aurora, New York. He began his studies in engineering at Brown
University in Providence, Rhode Island, but he interrupted his studies in 1942 to volunteer for military
service when he joined the Army Aviation Cadet Program. He graduated from that program as a Second
Lieutenant fighter pilot. Don served in Italy during World War II, flying 44 combat missions with the
350th Fighter Group’s Screaming Red Ass Squadron. He was awarded numerous flying medals and the
Purple Heart. Following his discharge from military service in 1945, Don returned to Brown University
where he earned a BS in mechanical engineering in 1948.
Don married Nancy Ann Faber, his high school sweetheart and the love of his life, on June 22, 1946.
They moved to Kansas City in 1950, where they lived except for brief stays in Omaha and Tulsa.
Don was regional sales manager for Cooper-Bessemer Corporation from 1960 until his retirement in
1987. He subsequently was chief executive of Bramley Company for 9 years, providing consulting and
manufacturer representative services to Cooper.
Don was a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Dwight Cowles American
Legion Post, a past member of Milburn Golf and Country Club, and a member of the Village Church
where he volunteered with the food pantry program.
Don participated in two bowling leagues and played golf regularly. Those who knew Don will
remember him as a meticulous statistician and record-keeper who kept at his fingertips records of his
bowling leagues dating back to 1960. He only recently retired his 60-year-old bowling shoes.
Don will be remembered as being passionate about sports, arts, music , and travel. However, his
greatest passion was his family. He was a loving husband, a steadfast father, and a generous
grandfather.
Don is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Ann and Terry Wynne of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, his
daughter, Nancy Diane "Debe" Bramley of Leawood, Kansas, and his grandchildren, Cristen Wynne
Barnett and her husband, Bob, of Little Rock, Arkansas, and Andrew Wynne of Fayetteville, Arkansas.
He was greatly loved and will be missed by all.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials may be made to The Village Church, 6641 Mission
Road, Prairie Village, Kansas 66208.
The family expresses its deepest gratitude to Don's doctors and medical care providers and
especially to the loving hearts at Kansas City Hospice House.
Fond memories and condolences may be left for the family at www.dwnewcomers.com. Arrangements are by the D.W. Newcomer's Sons Overland Park Chapel.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Don Bramley, please visit our flower store.