Louis Alan Bronaugh

A Celebration of Life for Louis Alan Bronaugh, 87, of Lufkin will be held Thursday, November 29, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. at First Christian Church with Reverend Jennifer Steele-Lantis and Reverend Jack Knox officiating. Private graveside services with military honors will be held at Garden of Memories Memorial Park.

Mr. Bronaugh was born May 28, 1931 in Dallas, Texas to the late Nina Faye (Halliday) and Louis Hodges Bronaugh, and died Saturday, November 24, 2018 at The Joseph House.

Louis Bronaugh was a native Texan, born in Dallas in 1931.  Louis spent most of his school years in Fort Worth but graduated from Lamar High School in Houston. Soon after graduation, he enlisted in the US Navy in June, 1950, and served as a Communications Technician for four years during the Korean Conflict. Louis chose to attend Texas Tech after his discharge, where he met his future wife, Charda, in geology lab. They married in early 1956 and moved to Houston, where the first two of their four children were born.

When Dr. J. C. Koch opened The Eye Clinic in Lufkin in 1959, he recruited Louis to work as the clinic Optician, so Louis and Charda moved to Lufkin from Houston because Lufkin “looked like a good place to raise a family.” Louis and Charda and their young family joined First Christian Church soon after settling in Lufkin. Louis began “serving” the community of Lufkin soon after becoming settled here. He and his wife Charda have long histories of volunteering and serving, and they instilled those values in their children and grandchildren.

Louis became involved in the community soon after arriving, joining the Lions Club. He also became involved with a couple of Boy Scout troops in Lufkin. Growing up in an “optical” family, Louis has always recognized the importance of promoting education in visual health and safety, and he made numerous presentations to industrial and educational groups. Louis trained school vision screeners in Lufkin from 1959 through 1979, when that function was assumed by the State of Texas. Through his work and membership in the Lufkin Evening Lions Club, that club acquired three vision screening systems for use by educational and charitable entities. Louis volunteered with “vision mission” trips in Haiti for several years, delivering eye care to indigent people there.

In 1974 Louis and Charda established Bronaugh Independent Opticians, thereby following in Louis’s parents’ footsteps where they had opened an establishment of the same name in Houston twenty-five years prior.

In 1984 Louis’ desire to give back service to the community led him to turn the day-to-day management of the business over to Charda, and he ran successfully for Lufkin’s City Council. Then in 1988, he ran successfully for the position of mayor and served Lufkin in that capacity for the next eighteen years. During his twenty-two years as City Councilman and Mayor, Louis held offices in the Texas Municipal League’s Region 16, the Deep East Texas Council of Governments, the Texas Water Advisory Board, the Angelina County Airport Board, Boys and Girls Club Board, and the East Texas Area Council Executive Board. He also served as the Southern Hushpuppy Olympics Chairman and chaired several committees within the Angelina County Chamber of Commerce. Louis was committed to economic development and improving the community. He was instrumental in bringing National Public Radio to the East Texas area via the KLDN radio station.  Louis was passionate about bringing the interstate highway system through East Texas, and he served as Chairman of the Alliance for I-69 Texas. Louis served on the board of the Angelina and Neches River Authority since 2007 as well as on the board of Goodwill of Central East Texas since about that time. Louis served on the board of the Brazos Valley Transit District for twenty-three years, presided over that board for over ten years, and at the time of his death was serving as board member emeritus.

Louis received many awards during his years of public service, beginning with the Silver Beaver Award, the highest council-level award given to volunteers, by the East Texas Area Council Boy Scouts of America in the 1970’s and culminating in December 2017, when both he and his wife were honored with the BSA Distinguished Citizen Good Turn Award for lifetime service to the youth of East Texas, the first recipients in this district.  His first community award came in 1986, when Louis received the Angelina Award from the Angelina County Chamber of Commerce.

Louis was a Life Member of the VFW, member of the American Legion, and member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

Louis never met a stranger—he loved connecting with people.  He was a great conciliator, a great compromiser. He always had stories and jokes to tell.  He loved being outdoors, hunting and fishing, taking his family camping, playing sports, and enjoying good times with friends and family. He was inspired by the mountains, and he loved visiting Colorado and New Mexico.

Special thanks to past and present staff and employees of City of Lufkin, past and present members of the Pine Island Hunting Club, board and staff of Brazos Transit District, board and staff of Angelina & Neches River Authority, staff and employees of Philmont Boy Scout Ranch, board and staff of Goodwill Industries of Central East Texas, doctors and staff of the Charles Wilson VA Outpatient Clinic, doctors and staff of The Heart Institute, doctors and staff of Dr. Cherry’s Neuro-Diagnostic Center, doctors and staff of Angelina Internal Medicine, staff of KamCare Home Health, staff and employees of Visiting Angels, past and present members of the Medford Sunday School Class at First Christian Church, members of the IT Sunday School Class at First Christian, members of the Coffee & Conversation Group at First Christian, the Men’s Tuesday Prayer Breakfast group, members of the Lufkin Evening Lions Club, members of the Angelina Rotary Club, doctors and staff of Hospice in the Pines, and board and staff of The Joseph House.

Survivors include his wife, Charda Faith (Pierce) Bronaugh of Lufkin; daughter, Tina Peavy and husband Woody; son, Mike Bronaugh of Colorado Springs, Colorado; daughter, Belinda Teer and husband Craig; granddaughter, Christa Randolph Ogden of Durant, Oklahoma; grandsons, Alan Randolph and wife Kellie, Rand Teer, and Perrin Teer; great-grandchildren, Ava Faith, Jason Louis, and Timothy Michael; brother Bob Bronaugh; extended family, Stephanie Randolph Parnell and husband Jimmie, their children Jessica, Collin, Katelyn, and Jimmie Ray, and grandchildren; Rae Lynn Randolph Bouillion and husband Trace and their daughter Peyton, and grandchildren; Amy Peavy Bolton and her husband Jake and their two children, Alyce and Truitt; Zane Peavy and wife Ana and daughter, Gabi; several nieces and nephews; cousins Betty Jo, Richard, and Sarah Jane; and other relatives.

He was preceded in death by his parents and son, Timothy Edward Bronaugh.

Pallbearers will be Craig Teer, Rand Teer, Perrin Teer, Alan Randolph, Woody Peavy, and Ben Bartlett.

Honorary pallbearers will be Mayor Bob Brown, Richard Pulaski, Gordon Henley, Ron Palmer, Dr. Gordon Jones, Jerry Hill, Sherman Collins, Kent Adair, John Macbeth, Dr. John Wood, Bob Putnam, Tenney Braden, John Porter, Bob Flournoy, and Jim Riggs.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the following: Tim Bronaugh Memorial Scholarship, SFASU Foundation, P.O. Box 6092-SFA Station, Nacogdoches, Texas 75962; The Joseph House Building Fund, P.O. Box 150554, Lufkin, Texas 75915; First Christian Church, 1300 S. First Street, Lufkin, Texas 75901; Hospice in the Pines, 1504 W. Frank Avenue, Lufkin, Texas 75904; or the charity of your choice.

The family will welcome friends and loved ones from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Wednesday evening at Carroway Funeral Home.

Memories and condolences may be added at www.carrowayfuneralhome.com.

Carroway Funeral Home, Lufkin, directors.