Francis B.J. Branagan Jr., 79, developer, consultant

Francis B.J. Branagan Jr., 79, of Middletown Township, Bucks County, a real estate developer and consultant and a community activist, died of kidney failure Friday, June 17, at home.

Mr. Branagan's career began in the mid-1950s after his father, also a developer, died suddenly. He completed his father's projects and then joined Warner Co., a concrete company that evolved to become a development and construction firm.

As president of Warner's real estate division, Mr. Branagan oversaw the development of the Penn Warner Industrial Park in Falls Township; the Village of Pennbrook, an apartment complex in Levittown; and Pennwood Crossing, a mobile-home community in Morrisville. He also helped develop Penn Warner Club in Morrisville as a recreational boating, campground, and fishing retreat.

"Frank was an innovator," his wife, Maureen Markford Branagan, said. The couple met after she was hired as the Village of Pennbrook's property manager. They married in 1974.

After Warner was sold in 1982, Mr. Branagan was a consultant for Waste Management Inc. and was involved in the establishment of the firm's Grows and Tullytown Landfills. He retired in 2001.

He was a past vice president of the Bucks-Montgomery chapter of the Home Builders Association of Philadelphia and Suburbs and of the Bucks County Industrial Development Authority.

He served on the board of the Federal Lands Reuse Authority, Pennsylvania, and was active on several other boards, including Bucks County Community College, Bristol Riverside Theatre, and the Delaware Valley Philharmonic. While on the board of the Lower Bucks Chapter of the American Red Cross, he provided vehicles and volunteers to take the homeless to temporary shelters before a permanent Red Cross shelter was built in Bristol Township in 1989.

In 1991, Mr. Branagan was named Ecumenical Person of the Year by Temple Shalom in Levittown for his community service.

Hal Lefcourt, chairman of the award committee, told The Inquirer: "Mr. Branagan is a true symbol of compassion and ecumenical interest and concern for all people. His volunteer effort with local health and welfare organizations is unequaled. His input to the economic life of Bucks County is recognized throughout the business community."

Mr. Branagan grew up in Mount Airy and graduated from La Salle College High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and was president of the Newman Center, the Catholic student organization there.

After graduating in 1953, he served in the Marine Corps in the United States and in Cuba.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, Robert; daughters Elizabeth Mertes and Therese Meyeroff; six grandchildren; and two sisters.

A Funeral Mass will be said at noon Tuesday, June 21, at St. Ignatius of Antioch Roman Catholic Church, 999 Reading Ave., Yardley, Pa., 19067. Friends may call from 9:30 a.m. Burial will be in the church cemetery.

Donations may be made to the St. Ignatius Memorial Fund at the church.