Robert (Bob) Michael Braukus, 79
Robert (Bob) M. Braukus peacefully passed away on June 2, 2020, in Kirkland, WA. He was renowned for his gregarious attitude, infectious smile, and boisterous laugh. His regular demonstrations of kindness, joy, love, integrity, generosity, strength, mentorship, & philosophy will be sorely missed. His heart was always three sizes too big.
Bob was born on May 8th, 1941, in Wallace, Idaho, to Joseph John Braukus (a miner) and Anna Frances Matusavage (homemaker), joining his older sister Mary Theresa. He was proud of his English and Lithuanian heritage. He attended Our Lady of Lourdes Academy where he met his future bride and lifelong love, Jane Braukus (Kennaugh) in the 6th grade. While living in Wallace, Idaho, Bob was an altar server at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church. During his summers, he would work down in the Idaho silver mines along with his father and several lifelong friends. Upon adulthood, he attended Seattle University and graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1965. Afterward, he took his first job with the Boeing Company on Marginal Way in Seattle.
In 1966, he attended the Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, and shortly thereafter was deployed to Vietnam. He was honorably discharged on October 19, 1968.
Bob married Jane Kennaugh in Seattle on June 8, 1968 and had two children: Susan and Greg. He modeled care and compassion for his family and adopted multiple stray & homeless dogs.
Most of Bob’s professional career after the Navy was with Puget Sound Power & Light Company and Puget Sound Energy (PSE). In 1980, he and his family briefly relocated to Anchorage, Alaska, where he worked for Chugach Electric. His career culminated as the President of Utility Solutions, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of PSE, prior to his retirement in 2004. Bob was a passionate philanthropist who supported many community organizations. He took great pride in working to make his community a better place.
He appreciated a “well-made Manhattan”, Mel Brooks movies, and, of course, any sci-fi book. He coached girls and boys soccer, basketball, and baseball, and would go to any professional sporting event 2 hours early and then leave by the 3rd inning or halftime. Bob was the lone left-handed “fisherman” in a “right-handers” fishing reel world. Most of the fish he caught had willingly strangled themselves in his countless “backlashes.” He was a hopeful golfer - a true king of the “mulligan.” He was an avid reader, a world traveler, a renaissance man, and a sports fan. He was also a good enough sport to work out in the yard during all Seahawks, Huskies, and Mariners games because he was “bad luck” - or simply out of repeated frustration. Bob earned several well deserved (yet unpublishable) nicknames for his insistence on bringing enough lanterns so that his camping spot could be seen clearly from space - because he was a true “energy” guy. Coming from a family of miners, he respected the earth but could tell you where to find copper nails if a tree was blocking your view. He had a tough time “pruning” his wife’s rose bushes and could never resist jumping into a pile of leaves (knowing ice & pillows for recovery were in order). He was a man’s griller - during an Alaskan winter, he would brave the darkness (wearing a headlamp) and extreme weather/cold. Bob made the best Christmas brunch ever - with amazing pancakes, burnt bacon, and “navy style” oozy eggs to the blaring music of “Stop the Cavalry” by the Cory Band. He cooked an amazing turkey each Thanksgiving and we’ll all continue to debate the precise time a turkey needs to “rest” after being cooked (so he could eat a pre-meal snack).
Bob was preceded in death by his wife Jane (Dec. 2018), his parents Joe and Anna, brother-in-law Tom, as well as his in-laws.
He is survived by:
His sister, Mary Theresa (Teddy) Rossi
His children: Susan Michelle Braukus Hempstead and Gregory John Braukus (Kathryn Greer Braukus)
His grandchildren: Nate, Hannah, John, and Anna
His nieces: Kendy (Sydni) and Kris (Bill)
We hope you will help us continue Bob’s legacy of community involvement and service by making a contribution in Bob’s memory to Toys for Tots.