In Passing – March 2024

Lorraine Marie Brammer

Lorraine Marie Brammer, 87, went to be with our Lord on Dec. 6, 2023, due to complications from COVID. She was born, one of eight children, on the family ranch in western South Dakota. Life on the prairie was hard but the family was strong, and the siblings enjoyed nearly every aspect of life with one another, including riding a horse to the one-room school house a few miles down the road. After high school in Spearfish, S.D., she went to work at the local bank, beginning a 40-year career in banking that concluded with Bank of America in Arizona.

Lorraine married Gerald Edward Brammer (Jerry) in February of 1953 in Miles City, Mont., when the two eloped in an act of independence and courage that would be the trademark of their marriage. After accompanying Jerry during his service in the U.S. Army, the couple moved to Oregon. In Oregon, they would raise their children and spend 25 years exploring the great outdoors, with Lorraine enjoying snow and water skiing, camping, fishing, and bowling. She also really enjoyed cooking for family and friends, and canning the tremendous bounty of fruits and vegetables that were available in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

The growth of the Phoenix area attracted the attention of the couple in the early 1980s and they relocated to Chandler, Ariz., thoroughly embracing all that there was to see and do in the great Southwest. The couple moved to Sun Lakes, Ariz., in 1984, became avid golfers, and traveled extensively both across the country in their RV and internationally, enjoying many trips and cruises. She was also very active in the women’s golf league in Sun Lakes, and was a member of Risen Savior Lutheran Church.

Lorraine was preceded in death by an infant son, her husband Jerry, and by six of her seven siblings. She is survived by her children, Joan Ruiz of Auberry, Calif., and Rick Brammer of Scottsdale, Ariz., her sister Virginia Linder, of Berthoud, Colo., and by seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She truly cherished her family, and was always ready to lend a helping hand or provide advice; she will be dearly missed by all who knew her.

A memorial service will be held at Valley of the Sun Mortuary in Chandler, Ariz., on March 9 at 10 a.m.

Thomas Paul Charles

Thomas Paul Charles, a towering figure in Ohio government who had an illustrious career with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Ohio Inspector General’s Office, and the Ohio Department of Public Safety, died at age 81, on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, after battling pancreatic cancer. It was the only battle that Tom couldn’t win on Earth. He is now rejoicing in the arms of Jesus.

Tom is survived by his loving wife of 31 years, Brigette. He was preceded in death by his father, Nelson, his mother, Iva Annabelle, and his brother, Perry.

Born on Dec. 6, 1942, in Spangler, Penn., Tom was a graduate of Hubbard High School, Class of 1960. As he repeatedly quipped, “I graduated from Hubbard, not Harvard.” In 2009, he was awarded Hubbard High’s Eagle Alumni Award. Tom also attended Youngstown State University, Penn State University, Central Ohio Technical College, Lakeland Community College, and the OIG Leadership Training Program at American University.

As a young man, Tom worked at the Brownlee Oil gas station in Hubbard. It was there that he developed his excellent work ethic and his dedication to always doing the right thing. Tom’s fondest memory of working at the gas station was this sage advice that Mr. Brownlee passed along: “If you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got time to clean.” It was also at the gas station that Tom met the state patrolman who recommended that Tom apply to the Patrol Academy.

At the Patrol, Tom worked as a cadet dispatcher before entering the academy’s 63rd class in 1963. He would spend the next 31 years serving in numerous leadership positions, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before he retired in 1994. Following his lengthy Patrol career, he went on to be appointed as Ohio’s first Legislative Inspector General, after which he served as Ohio Inspector General and Director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Tom formed an LLC in 2013 and was a consultant to JobsOhio and Nationwide Insurance. He served as a commissioner with the exposition commission through 2020.

Tom also coordinated security for former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger at the annual Arnold Sports festival in Columbus.

Tom was a true leader with a long history of exemplary public service. May his memory be eternal.

If Tom was writing his obituary, it would be at this point that he would write, “Let’s get on to the good stuff”—his family. Among his happiest moments were the hours he spent with his 11 grandchildren—Emily, Erin, Blake, Brent, Bryor, Behr, Nolan, Parker, Lucas, Evelyne, and Noah. Some of these most memorable moments include, Shrine Circus outings, Easter gatherings, shopping for school supplies, junior sailing club outings at the Buckeye Lake Yacht Club, cannonball competitions, and breathlessly opening Pokemon cards—these were the moments that Tom cherished until his final breath.

In addition to his wife, Brigette, and 11 grandchildren, Tom is survived by two sons, Brian (Karen) and Brian (Caitie); three daughters, Brenda, Bethany (Billy) and Courtney (Drew); and two sisters, Mary Jo (Jerry) and Karen (Dennis).

A memorial service was held on Jan. 29 at Peace United Methodist Church in Pickerington, Ohio. Private inurnment followed the service for family members.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Capital City Hospice. Online donations can be made at capitalcityhospice.com/donate. Checks or money orders can be sent to: Capital City Hospice, 2800 Corporate Drive, Suite 170, Columbus, OH 43231. Please include the notation: “In memory of Thomas Charles.”

Janice Evelyn Lynch

Born in Abilene, Texas, in January 1938, Janice grew up next door to McMurry College and in the First Baptist Church of Abilene. She attended Abilene High School and with the encouragement of her neighbor, a McMurry Dean, she attended Hardin Simmons University. She finished college at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland and later earned two master’s degrees, in Education at Shippensburg College and Education Administration at Central Washington University. Her focus on learning translated into a 30-year career as an educator and administrator.

Married life made her a military wife of 20 years, living in Thailand, Germany, and across the U.S., teaching in every locale. She focused on Special Education with a heart for helping struggling students. At every post, she quickly found a church home and plugged in: choir, Sunday school teacher, bible study lead. Post-military, life with her husband Gordon, a Boeing exec, meant exciting international travel while living in Washington state and Brussels. Upon retirement, they settled in Sun Lakes where she focused on various ministries at Hope Covenant, First Baptist Sun Lakes, First Baptist Chandler, and in Bible Study Fellowship. She devoted time to photography, bridge, mah jongg, friends, and community.

Janice is survived by her two adult children, Alan and Ayn, seven grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren from her extended family. Gordon, her husband of 50 years, and her mother and father predeceased her.