Bobby "Bob" Baites Bratton

Bobby “Bob” Baites Bratton January 4, 1942 to April 28, 2024 Bob Bratton was a man who was happiest when he was working on a project. As a child he liked building model airplanes, and as a youth, working on sports cars and riding motorcycles. After his marriage, he and his wife, the late Linda (Reebel) Bratton went for bigger projects. Together, they built an environmentally conscious geodesic dome home, ran a home repair business, and rehabbed a live-aboard 46-foot sailboat. “My interest in mechanical and scientific things comes from him,” said his son, Rob Bratton. Bob was born on January 4, 1942, in Woodvillle, Texas, to Juanita and Billie Bruce Bratton. He passed away at Concordia of Monroeville on Sunday, April 28, 2024, just eight months after the death of his beloved wife, Linda Bratton. “Basically, he was just a nice person who liked to help people. He was always very creative about figuring out things to do,” said his sister, Billie Ann Bratton Brown. When Bob was young, his father worked in highway construction and oil excavation. The family moved frequently – Texas, Louisiana, Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida. Bob ended up attending three different high schools in three different states before graduating and going on to attend Emery University in Atlanta, Georgia. After college, Bob moved back to Pittsburgh. He worked first on a project with a Dr. Kobayashi, researching schizophrenia in Vietnam War veterans, and later as a chemical technician for US Steel Chemicals. During the Vietnam War, he served in the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve, and was honorably discharged in 1969. He met Linda Reebel, his wife to be, at an Eat ‘n’ Park diner near Pittsburgh. Linda and her sister, Ruth Reebel, were parked outside in their Austin Healey sports car waiting for service. Bob was also parked there in his Jaguar. He and his friends, also in sports cars, invited Linda and Ruth inside the diner for coffee. Linda and Bob were married on July 16, 1965. The couple settled in Dormont, where their sons Rob and Jim, were born. In 1981, they moved to Murrysville, where, working together, they had built an energy efficient geodesic dome house, complete with greenhouse and solar panels. Bob loved working on this big project and videotaped the dome in various stages of construction. The couple then started a side home repair business using the skills they had learned in building their home. In 1997, when Bob retired, they sold their home and moved to Florida where they bought a 46-foot, live-aboard, Morgan sailboat. The couple completely rehabbed the boat, and set sail from Ft. Lauderdale in 1998 on a cruise that would take them through the islands of the Caribbean, including Nassau, The Turks and Caicos, Grenada and Trinidad. They sailed as far south as Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, where they went ashore to meet Linda’ s sister Ruth and visit Angel Falls, the world’s highest waterfall. They then sailed back through the Caribbean, along the Gulf Coast and eventually docked at Galveston, Texas. Weary of sailing, they sold their sailboat in 2007 and bought a home in Bandera, Texas, where Linda’s sister, Ruth, had a second home. Bob’s mother, Juanita Bratton, then living in Conroe, Texas, was in failing health, so the couple brought her into their home and cared for her until her death. They loved their Bandera home and made many friends. But Bob’s health was declining: After a routine flu vaccination, he developed Guillain Barre syndrome, a rare muscle weakness that starts in the legs and spreads upward through the body. As Bob’s disease worsened, he needed more help than Linda could give. In 2019, they moved to Morningside at Menger Springs, a senior living complex in Boerne, Texas. In 2022, Linda experienced a stroke, and in 2023, with the help of family, the couple moved to Concordia in Monroeville to be closer to their sons. On July 16, 2023, the couple celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary, only to see Linda die three weeks later, on August 6, of another stroke. Bob was inconsolable after Linda’s death. His health worsened, and on April 28, 2024, he died of congestive heart failure. He is survived by his sons, Rob Bratton of Monroeville and James Bratton of McKees Rocks; his sister, Billie Ann Brown of North Ft. Myers, Florida; his grandsons, Lucas, Steven and Cole Bratton; his nephews, Bret Brown and David Benfell; and his sisters in law, Ruth Reebel of Amherst, Massachusetts, and Carol Benfell, of Graton, California. Memorial Services have not yet been scheduled. Arrangements entrusted to the GENE H. CORL FUNERAL CHAPEL INC. AND CREMATION SERVICES OF MONROEVILLE.