Loraine Bracewell, Jr.

Durango resident Matt Bracewell passed peacefully January 12, 2014 at Four Corners Health Care Center, he was 87. Matt was born & raised in Fort Worth, Texas by his adoring parents, L. M. Bracewell Sr. and Berneice Pitt Bracewell. He knew every neighbor on his street by name and was a social butterfly at an early age. His smile would win you over in a second. He Graduated from Texas A & M with a Mechanical Engineering degree and served his country at the end of World War II. He began his career in the oil field after college working in South Texas and Louisiana. In 1955 he married Doris Julie Gianelloni of Baton Rouge, LA. Matt & Julie raised 3 daughters in Houston, TX as Matt’s career flourished. The marriage ended in divorce in 1974. Matt began a career in the trust department of Houston Bank and Trust. In the early 1970s he started his own business, Bracewell and Associates doing estate planning and offering life insurance. He earned the trust and love of his many clients and kept up with them his entire life. Matt started working on 2 double floppy disc computers in the mid 1980’s. Being an early computer guru, he was always happy to help anyone who needed assistance with their computer. The computer was his passion and his connection to the world, especially with his hearing impairment. After many family trips to Colorado and deepening his love of the mountains, he lived part time in Telluride, Co in the late 1980’s. He loved being able to walk to the ski lift and the post office and visit with the locals. He was even known for walking down Main Street in shorts in January, always with a big smile on his face. He made frequent motorhome trips throughout the west in the 1980’s and 90’s. He loved finding new places to visit with his friends and daughters and taking pictures of the beauty everywhere he traveled. He was an avid amateur photographer and in his later years became a great digital photographer. He was a Photoshop wizard and loved fixing up and printing his photos and then delivering them to his subjects. He made many friends in Durango this way and this hobby enriched his life immensely. Matt was a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Mancos, Co and he enjoyed the drive to Mancos each Sunday to his group of loving friends. Matt’s friends, associates, clients and family knew him as a truly honest, genuine, caring, man. He will be missed by all who knew him. A Celebration of Life will be held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 910 E. Third Ave, Durango, CO, Saturday January 25, at 2:00 PM. After the service, a gathering will be held in the church meeting hall. He is survived by his three daughters who he cherished, Michelle Bracewell of Colorado Springs, CO, Juliet Whitfield of Durango, CO and Mellie Bracewell of Santa Fe, NM and her spouse Randy Hibben. He is preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Venita Jean Bracewell. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to American Lung Association or the Alzheimer’s Association in memory of Matt.