Thomas Ray Braxton

Thomas Ray Braxton, eldest son of Margarete Catherine (Dalzell) and Leon Edgar Braxton, passed away in Dothan, AL on September 2, 2023. He was born December 5, 1946, in Vienna, Austria, during his father’s posting there with the US Army Air Corps. Thom graduated from Miami’s Palmetto Senior High School in 1965. He enlisted in the US Navy Reserve in 1964 while still in high school and transitioned to active duty service in the Navy in 1965. He served as a Chief Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare Technician (E-7) until his retirement in 1985. His postings and deployments included Great Lakes, ’65, the USS Randolph (CVS-15), ’66, NAS Jacksonville, ’68, the USS Howard W. Gilmore (AS-16), ’70, NATTC Memphis, ’72, NAS Jacksonville, ’76 and AIRANTISUBRON 28 Cecil Field, ’83. He retired in 1985 at Orange Park, FL. Thom’s military career encompassed service in support of the Multinational Force peacekeeping combat operation during the Lebanese Civil War as well as Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. He was awarded the US Armed Forces Expeditionary, USN Expeditionary Forces and USN Achievement medals. His units earned two Navy Unit Commendation ribbons and he proudly wore the Navy Sea Service Deployment ribbon for his five seaborne deployments. While at the NATTC Memphis he continued his education earning an Associates Degree. Following his military service he attended the US Customs and Border Protection Training Academy in Glynco, GA graduating as a Customs and Border Protection Agent. His new career took him to postings in Miami, FL, Sasabe, AZ and Scobey, MT before his eventual retirement in 2007. Thom enjoyed woodworking, numismatics, and philately with collections dating to his boyhood and was a dedicated audiophile and lover of folk music. He was also a vintage firearms enthusiast and a serious collector, making regular trips to display and sell from his collection. He was known for his generous nature and always ready to lend a hand to friends and neighbors. He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Barbara Jean Craft. He is survived by his wife Deborah R. (Debbie) of Enterprise, AL, sons Thomas Ray of Tampa FL and David Jerrod Braxton of Jacksonville, FL from his first marriage to Lynda (Fenters) Braxton of Green Cove Springs, FL, as well as a brother Douglas James Braxton of Cary, NC, and sisters Patricia Ellen Braxton of Tampa, FL, and Susan Mae Braxton of Urbana, IL. Memorial donations in Thom’s name may be made to the American Cancer Society or the Shriners Hospitals for Children. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Thomas Ray Braxton, please visit our flower store.