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father david braun, pastor of holy cros, wendelin
and st. joseph, stringtown dies dec. 30 at home

By RAFE MIDDEKE and LIZ QUIRIN
Messenger staff

Father David L. Braun, 71, of Wendelin, formerly of Pinckneyville, died Dec. 30, 2009 at his home.
Father David and his twin brother, Dean, were born on April 19, 1938 in Du Quoin to Leo Anton and Georgia Naomi Talley Braun.

David was ordained a priest at the age of 43 by Bishop William Cosgrove on June 6, 1981 and served at parishes in Centreville, East St. Louis, Centralia, Ridgway, Wendelin and Stringtown.

While the twins had both entered St. Henry’s Seminary in Belleville as high school sophomores, they decided they did not want to be ordained and left.

Graduating from high school and going on to college Dean pursued a degree in business and David in music.
Before graduating with his business degree, Dean changed his mind and returned to the seminary and was ordained in 1969.

David finished his degree in music and became an elementary school teacher.

He taught a total of 18 years — the last several in Austria. In that interim he was the organist at several churches including at St. Leonhard’s in Finkenberg, which resulted in a friendship that continued for many years.

When he returned to the seminary, everything seemed to fit; he served as organist at the seminary and also had a guitar group.

After serving as an associate at St. Mary’s in Centralia, he was named pastor at St. Joseph’s in Ridgway.
It was in Ridgway that he adopted his son, Mark, who was 11 years old.

Talking to The Messenger on his 25th anniversary as a priest, Father David spoke about the adoption: “I especially wanted to do this because I saw myself becoming a bachelor. ... You tend to become narrow minded and possessive of things. You need to have someone around to have to say you’re sorry to. (Mark) was a good boy but he always tested me to the limit. It sure helped me understand parenting.

“The people in Wendelin and in Ridgway were so supportive of me adopting. I am glad I could adopt Mark and add that facet of life to my priestly life,” he said in 2006.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Jan. 5 at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Wendelin with Bishop Stanley G. Schlarman principal celebrant and Msgr. Marvin C. Volk homilist with more than 40 priests of the Belleville diocese concelebrating.

During his homily Msgr. Volk said: “There is a Scripture passage toward the beginning of John’s Gospel where Jesus is choosing his disciples. He spies Nathaniel coming and says to those around him, ‘Look, there, a man who has no guile.’ To me that is a good description of Father David. What you saw was what you got. He could freely admit his shortcomings and he could celebrate his talents. He lived his life plainly for all to see, as sincerely and as honestly as he could.”

Later, in describing another facet of Father David’s personality, Msgr. Volk said: “He had a sense of humor — you had to be careful what you said around him lest it become an interesting part of his ‘Pastor’s Notes’ in the bulletin.”
Father David described his parishioners at Holy Cross and St. Joseph’s as part of his family, and they felt the same way about him.

Survivors include his son, Mark Anthony (Kourtnie) Braun of Monroe, Mich.; a granddaughter, Gwendolyn Braun; two brothers, Donald K. Braun of Pinckneyville and James L. (Joyce) Braun of Abingdon, Va.; and numerous other relatives, parishioners, and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and his twin brother, Father Dean E. Braun.

Committal service and interment was later in the day in St. Bruno Catholic Cemetery, Pinckneyville.

In closing, Msgr. Volk said: “Father David always had the knack of looking at things optimistically, and maybe that can be part of the legacy he leaves us: that no matter how bad we feel, or how bleak life can sometimes seem, we need to move forward with faith and a sense of hope. God is always with us, and God-willing, if we hold on to that faith we will all reach our eternal destiny.”