Rodney Lee Bratcher, 73, was born on April 19, 1942, in Beaver Dam, Ky., on Liberty Road, in the house his Daddy, Osvil Tine Bratcher, built for his wife, Anna Laura Ragland Bratcher, and Rodney.
Rodney attended Beaver Dam Grade School, and graduated from Beaver Dam High School with the class of 1960. He was active in FFA, and enjoyed managing the basketball team. He was voted Mr. Senior of his class. He was past president of the Beaver Dam High School Alumni Association and a member of Liberty United Methodist Church.
He spent four years in the Air Force including a six month tour in Korea, during the Pueblo Crisis, after which he returned to Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Mont., until his discharge, and return to Beaver Dam. He attended Western Kentucky University, adding to educational hours he had accumulated in the Air Force.
He enjoyed farming, starting out as a teen, with his Papaw Bratcher and his Daddy. He was a good mechanic, whether automobiles, farm equipment or an F-105 jet engine. He also enjoyed carpentry, and was able to build a house for his own family, off Liberty Road, on Old Rob Roy Lane, where the family continues to reside. He retired from Peabody Coal, Ken Surface Mines, Ohio County, after 25 years. He loved moving dirt with any kind of heavy equipment, including the “big” shovel.
He is preceded in death by his parents, his paternal grandparents, Buel and Elizabeth Woosley Bratcher; and his maternal grandparents, Thurman Lee and Mabel Charles Porter Ragland. He was also preceded by his younger brother, Larry Dale Bratcher (Oct. 2011) and Larry’s wife, Charlotte Ann Austin Bratcher (Jan. 2012), and four cousins. He was also preceded by aunts and uncles, the Ragland brothers, Terry, Maurice, Ed, Tom, and Kenneth, also Lew and Oddie Bratcher, Eloise Ragland Howell (the late Henry Howell), Fred Saint (Mary Sue Ragland Saint) and J.T. Martin (June Faye Bratcher Martin.)
He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Donna G. Rafferty Bratcher; three sons, Jeffrey Lee Bratcher, and wife Charlotte, of Hardinsburg, Ky., Lee Donovan and Dustin Ladd Bratcher, of Beaver Dam; and one grandson, Jackson Hunter Bratcher, also of Hardinsburg. He is survived by one sister, Suzanne Bratcher Benton, of Beaver Dam. He is survived by aunts and uncles: Mary Sue Ragland Saint, of Gaithersburg, Mary., John and Irene Ragland, of Lexington, Ky., Jennie James Ragland, of Owensboro, Madie (Bratcher) Sandefur, and husband Wendell, and June Faye Bratcher Martin, all of Beaver Dam. He is survived by four nephews, Jason Lee Bratcher (Jennifer), of Hansen, Ky., Jared Dale Bratcher (Ellen), of Utica, Ky., Jeremy Chad Bratcher, also of Utica, and Christopher Charles Miles Benton, of Beaver Dam; two nieces, Julie Ann Bratcher Francis (Pat), of Utica, and Chelsie Nicole Benton Walsh (Patrick), of Elizabethtown, Ky. Also, 10 great-neices and nephews, and 20 cousins.
Funeral Service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, May 18, at William L. Danks Funeral Home in Beaver Dam with Pastor Peggy Smith officiating. Pastor Peggy is pastor of St. John’s United Methodist Church, Owensboro, formerly pastor of Liberty United Methodist Church and Centertown United Methodist Church in Ohio County. Burial will be in Liberty United Methodist Church Cemetery with Military Honors provided by Wesley Phelps Honor Guard. Visitation will be from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. Sunday and 9 a.m. until the time of service Monday at the funeral home.
