Oct. 22, 2015 ANNAPOLIS, Md.—Former Navy football great Leon Bramlett, Jr. (’47) passed away on Monday in Texas at the age of 92.
Bramlett was a four-year letterwinner in football for the Midshipmen and was team captain in 1946. The Mids compiled a four-year record of 22-13-1 in his four years, including an 8-1 record in 1943 and a 7-1-1 mark in 1945. He earned All-American honors in 1944 and 1945. He was also the heavyweight boxing champion at Navy in 1943.
Mr. Bramlett was born Sept. 17, 1923 in Clarksdale, Miss. He was the son of the late Leon Crow Bramlett, Sr. and Elizabeth Jones Bramlett of Clarksdale, MS. Mr. Bramlett was a graduate of Clarksdale High School in 1941. He attended Ole Miss in 1941 and, following one year at University of Alabama, received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy. He was a member of the football team at all three schools.
In 1947 he married the love of his life, Virginia McGehee of Greenville, Miss. After graduation, he served two years in the Marine Corps and also served two years as an assistant coach at the Naval Academy. He was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.
Upon returning home in 1950, he became engaged in farming and cotton ginning and became involved in local and state politics. He was State Chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party from 1968-1972 and also served as Chairman of the Mississippi Marketing Council during that time.
In 1976, he became a Republican and was chosen to co-chair the Gerald Ford Presidential Campaign in Mississippi and sought the Republican nomination for governor in 1979. In 1980, he was chosen to co-chair the Ronald Reagan Presidential Campaign in Mississippi. In 1983, he was accorded the Republican nomination for Governor of Mississippi.
He was one of the founders of Lee Academy and served as President of that School Board from 1970-1979. He was an elder in the First Presbyterian Church (PCA) of Clarksdale, Miss. He served on the staff of U.S. Senator Thad Cochran from 2001 through 2013.
Leon is survived by his son Leon Crow Bramlett, III and wife Vanessa, of Bedford, TX; daughter Virginia Hartridge Bramlett, of Bedford, TX; grandchildren Scott Douglas Russell (Lisa), of Black Mountain, NC, and Virginia Russell Word (Trey), of Olive Branch, MS; and great-grandchildren Bramlett Russell, Noah Russell, and Sallie Key Word.
He is also survived by Lee and Vanessa Bramlett’s children, Jeremy Genung (Tiffany) and Sabrina Estes (Jason), and grandchildren: Eli Genung, Nate Genung, Jeremy Genung Jr., Levi Genung, Lexus Estes, and Brooke Allie Estes.
Leon is also survived by his sisters Elizabeth Bramlett Luster (T.M.) of Clarksdale, Miss., and Virginia Bramlett Lowrance (the late Charles) of Memphis, Tenn.
He is preceded in death by his eldest daughter, Sallie Key Bramlett Russell, and his wife, Virginia McGehee Bramlett (“Skeeter”).
Visitation will be held Friday, October 23, 2015 from 1:00 to 2:00 pm at the First Presbyterian Church of Clarksdale, Miss. The funeral service will follow visitation with the Reverends Bill Gleason and John Garrott officiating. Meredith-Nowell Funeral Home in Clarksdale is in charge of the arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Clarksdale, Miss., Presbyterian Day School, Clarksdale, Miss., or Lee Academy, Clarksdale, Miss.
