Jack Kent Branon was born on December 27, 1944, in Huntington, West Virginia to John C. Branon (U.S. Army WII Veteran) of Gleason, Tennessee, and Kathleen Rose Lester of Fort Gay, West Virginia.
Jack was married on April 9, 1968, in Portsmouth, Ohio, to Sharon Marie Smith, daughter of William Douglas Smith of Portsmouth and Dorothy Joan Brennen of Chicago.
Jack attended Clay schools, graduating in 1962 from Clay High School. At Clay, Jack played baseball in the school’s most recent district championship in 1962. He was on various scholarship teams and the 1962 state championship debate team. He was also a president of the Bible Club and Future Teachers of America.
He received an academic scholarship from the University of Toledo. After a year at Toledo, Jack transferred to Cedarville College, graduating in 1966. At Cedarville Jack was a baseball player, earning NAIA all-district honors. He was a member of Cedarville’s first cross-country team, earning the team’s most valuable player award for the first national team. He was a student assistant in men’s basketball and served on the school’s student council.
He began his teaching and coaching career at Clay High School after a year of classwork at Ohio University, where he was inducted into Phi Alpha Theta, a history honor society. Jack also received his master’s degree from Marshall University in 1967. At Clay, he began teaching social studies and became the assistant varsity coach, under Arch Justice, on a team that played in the 1969 Ohio State 1973 tournament.
Jack moved to Green, where he won two conference championships in baseball and coached basketball for five years.
In 1974 he moved to Wheelersburg as a boys’ assistant basketball coach, a position he held for 20 years with two state appearances. He was an assistant under Mike Hughes, Mike Lovenguth, and John Eaton. During that time, he coached three sports (cross country, basketball, and baseball) for twenty years each. As baseball coach he accomplished 12 section
championships In addition, he coached girls’ basketball as head coach for six years.
He also spent seven years as head coach of Post 23 American-Legion baseball, and seven more seasons as an assistant coach to Jeff Nickel for the Shawnee State University’s women’s basketball team. He was also an adjunct instructor for seven years at Shawnee State University.
Jack won several awards for his coaching. He was named to the Ohio High School Baseball Hall of Fame and the Southeastern Ohio District Hall of Fame, selected three times as the coach of the state baseball team and state coach of the year three times. He was selected one year to be the coach for the state girls’ basketball team. Jack also coached 16 boys and girls to participate in the state meet in cross country.
Jack’s relationship with Jesus Christ was the focal point of his life. He was a member of the Wheelersburg Baptist Church where he was a deacon and an adult Sunday school teacher for many years. He was a strong follower of Jesus Christ. In the 1970’s he and his wife Sharon took several missionary trips with a youth group from his previous church, Temple Baptist.
He was an avid distance runner, including once running the Boston Marathon.
He had many interests, including:
-traveling as he and Sharon visited Canada, Mexico, and all states except Alaska.
-genealogy
-watching sports, especially the Cincinnati Reds.
-watching his children play sports (Beth in gymnastics, once a Level 7-Optional Kentucky State All-Around Champion, and Michael, an all-state football and baseball player)
-reading and studying history
He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Alice Mae Branon Waldon (wife of John Waldon). He is survived by his children Elizabeth Kathleen Lockwood (wife of Cannan Wiseman, U.S. Army Veteran) of Milton, Florida, and Michael Kent Branon (Kim McDaniel) of Gallipolis, Ohio. He was also survived by two granddaughters, Miranda Cheyenne Atkins Snyder (wife of Scott Snyder) of Salina, Kansas, and Briar Rose Atkins, U.S. Army Veteran (wife of Jeremiah Stuart) of Wahiawa, Hawaii.
His four best friends were Mike Lovenguth, Jeff Nickel, Jerry Bonzo, and Gale Dalton.
Services for Jack will be 11:00 am Saturday, March 8, 2025 at Wheelersburg Baptist Church with Pastor Brad Brandt officiating. Interment will be in Sunset Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends 5:00 – 8:00 pm Friday, March 7, 2025 at Harrison-Pyles Funeral Home in Wheelersburg and one hour before the 11:00 am service at the church. Condolences to the family may be made at www.harrison-pyles.com.
