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Ancestors and Descendants of
Michael Hammes, Jr & Margaretha Hammen
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 1947 - 2013 (66 years)
Has no ancestors but 6 descendants in this family tree.
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| Name |
Michael Dean Bratcher |
| Birth |
27 Jan 1947 |
St. Francis Hospital, Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
18 Dec 2013 |
St. Francis Hospital, Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas |
| Person ID |
I1507 |
Peter and Anna |
| Last Modified |
15 Aug 2015 |
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| Notes |
- Michael Dean Bratcher
Mike attended North High School, Wichita, Kansas. Mike joined the Navy and was in for about 3 years, spending most of his active duty in Vietnam. Mike is in the construction business, installing sewer and water lines in new development areas for new homes.
- NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
TOUGH OLD TOM LEADS MERRY CHASE
Wichitan Mike Bratcher is serious about hunting. He does all the home work like establishing real friendships with landowners and checking out the intended hunting area to read wildlife signs long before he goes afield.
But that didn’t make bagging of his fist wild Kansas turkey a cinch. He knew the turkeys were on land he visited on Commanche County. Yet, it took all day on the opening of the season last Saturday to get his bird.
“I probably spend as much time scouting good hunting sites as I spend hunting,” Bratcher said. He is a long-time hunter safety instructor in Sedgwick County and has worked with landowners who also promote hunter safety instruction. He is a camp-out fisherman who always offers some of his harvest to the farmers and ranchers who are his hosts.
“They seldom accept,” he said. “But offering shows good intentions. I try to help in any other way I can. First impressions are very important, so I introduce myself, shake hands, and sometime during the conversation I mention my interest and experience in youth safety clinics which have courteous behavior as part of the curriculum.”
Bratcher said only once has he been refused land entry, and he understands that refusal. It came while he was seeking a site for his first turkey hunt.
“The man had cattle all over the place,” he said. “He asked me politely not to hunt there.”
The Wichitan gained permission at ranchland new to him, land recommended by a farmer who had given him quail-hunt privileges last fall. Bratcher knew an old gobbler was with a small flock there.
Old, is right! The bird Bratcher bagged had a beard of near 11 inches and spurs that measured more than an inch. Gobblers that old aren’t much use to the expansion of the flock. They are known as “surplus” stock.
But that old bird led Bratcher on merry chase. Bratcher went afield with Wichitan Mike States, who did not get his gobbler on opening weekend. The turkey harvest is 63 to date in a season that closes at sunset May 1.
The two hid in a draw surrounded by sagebrush well before sun-up. They thought the turkeys would come from the roost to feed. It didn’t turn out that way.
Bratcher had tried to find a turkey call without success. So the pair just waited for luck. Only one turkey came within 60 yards of the “blind,” too far for an effective shot.
The Wichitans watched the birds’ feeding habits for a time and then moved to a new sagebrush blind.
“The birds walked right by us - we both had decent shots,” said Bratcher. But States didn’t take a shot. He couldn’t distinguish in heavy cover if the targets were gobblers..
Bratcher, 300 yards away from his companion, blasted away.
“Would you believe I missed at 25 yards?” Bratcher asked. The two followed the birds, but the turkeys were easily spooked by this time.
The hunters ate lunch at a tent site along a creek. They cooked during the campout over an open fire in an iron skillet. By mid-afternoon, they were back to turkey stalking.
Bratcher moved into the creek bed to steal closer to the scattered flock. He lay behind a cottonwood log on the stream bank for more than an hour, watching to old gobbler.
Four hens pecked at grass seeds and insects nearby and one hen walked on Bratcher’s hand while inspecting the log.
“I didn’t even breath,” said the hunter. “I tried not to move my eyes as that hen looked me over.”
He finally got his shot at he elderly gobbler at 25-yard range. The tom turkey weighed 24 pounds on hen house scales.
Roasting that turkey may take a long time. But Bratcher has great confidence in his wife’s grandmother, Mrs. Bernice Oaks, from Lakeview, Iowa, who will get the cooking job. The bird will be eaten at a family reunion. Mrs. Oaks married a widely-known conservationist-sportsman in the Lakeview area and has had a lifetime of cooking game, Bratcher explained.
SOURCE: The Wichita Beacon, Wichita, Kansas Thursday, April 28, 1977
- OBITUARY
Mike Bratcher
Bratcher, Mike, 66, underground utilities construction supervisor passed away Dec. 18, 2013. Mike was an avid hunter and fisherman.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Jeanne Bratcher and sister-in-law, Vicki Bratcher.
He is survived by his wife, Sue; daughter, Staci (Randy) Wilson; son, Scott (Karissa) Bratcher; father, Ken Bratcher; brother, Van Bratcher; grandchildren, Grady and Gavin Wilson and Daltyn and Kaden Bratcher; sister-in-laws, Sheryl (Jerry) Jackson and Sydney Vogel.
Memorials may be sent to Kansas Wildlife and Parks or Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice. Celebration of life will be held at a later date. Condolences may be offered at www.resthavenmortuary-cemetery.com <http://www.resthavenmortuary-cemetery.com>
SOURCE: The Wichita Eagle, Wichita, Kansas, Dec.
21 to Dec. 22, 2013
- MEMORIAL
Remembering the Life of Michael Dean Bratcher
By Robert Bull, Pastor
Michael Dean Bratcher was born on Monday, January 27th 1947 here in Wichita, Kansas. His father, Ken, worked on aircraft at Cessna and his mother, Jeanne, was a school teacher who taught English. Mike has a brother, Van, who is 4 years older.
Mike’s family moved away from Wichita to Blackwell and then to Stillwater in Oklahoma for four years before returning here where Mike attended school. Mike attended school. Mike attended Arkansas Avenue Elementary, Garrison Elementary, Marshall Middle School and North High School. When I say he attended I mean “attended” in a loose sense of the word. On some days he would enter the school through the front door with his Teacher mother and leave through the back door alone. Mike’s childhood and school days were, never-the-less, happy.
For a couple of years he played baseball on a team his father coached. The family lived on North Gordon so from Middle School Mile and his friends spent a lot of time in and around the Arkansas River. They would wade the river, they knew it’s deep holes, where he loved to fish. The boys also camped out at night along the river. One of their activities was to smoke driftwood, they couldn’t afford cigarettes to driftwood became the alternative they could afford.
Among Mike’s acquaintances was Sue Vogel. In fact, a story she tells of Mike in High School, is that her mother would loan Mike money, the condition being that he did not take Sue out. So Mike dated some of Sue’s girlfriends.
Mike left school when only 17 and joined the Navy on January 22, 1965. He underwent training and then saw active service as a Cox’n on a L.S.T. supporting amphibious operations in Vietnam. Mike did three tours. The worst job was moving body bags. Mike’s rule was never read the label in case it was someone he knew. All the time he was in the Navy Sue Vogel wrote letters to him. Mike finally left the Navy on January 29, 1968.
He returned home and got work with an electric company climbing poles. Meanwhile he apparently stopped borrowing money from Sue’s mother because he started dating Sue. Then on Saturday, October 19, 1968 Michael and Sue were married at Broadway Christian Church.
Mike realized he needed an education so he worked for and obtained his GED later when Staci arrived and Sue could work he got extra work to hold things together. Despite the hard work she created, Staci was welcomed and loved just as Scott would later be welcomed and loved.
Let’s take a minute to name Mike’s family. Mike and Sue’s daughter, Staci, is married to Randy and their children are Grady and Gavin. Mike and Sue’s son, Scott, is married to Karissa with children Daltyn and Kaden.
Mike got work at Cessna Aircraft working on air conditioning. Then he formed his own company; Bratcher Construction and for 20 years dealt sewers and waterlines. After Bratcher Construction Mike went to Mies Construction ending his time there, retiring on his birthday in 2012, as superintendent of underground utilities. Doesn’t underground utilities sound so much better than sewer and waterlines.
Mike also had other interests. When Staci was in high school, Sue and Mike became youth ministers here at Riverside Christian Church. Sue did the preparing, planning and teaching, and Mike made sure everyone behaved. Remembering his own youth there were no new tricks the young people got up to that he hadn’t tried himself. He went with the men of the church, and used his skill and equipment, to build facilities at Christian Hills camp site.
Mike enjoyed hunting, went hunting with his father, Ken, and got himself a bird dog for Pheasant and Quail. He may not have been the world’s greatest marksman, but he got a number of birds that he would take home, cleaned, cooked and eat them. One of his good ideas, was to breed his female dog with a friends male dog. He figured that they were both good dogs, and so would their puppies be. He figured if he would breed the dogs at the end of hunting season it would be warm when the puppies arrived 9 months later. When 13 puppies did arrive 60 days later, Mike had to heat the garage do keep them warm. Who knew different species of mammals had different gestation periods? - Not Mike.
Big brother, Van recalls that he and Mike were as different as any brothers could ever be in their younger years. He accepted the fact he was his brother because they looked so much alike. As they were growing up, Mike’s interests were in fishing on the river bank near their home, hunting with his dad, sports and getting in mischief with his friends. Van was probably thought of as the nerdy older brother who liked to read and study and didn’t mind time by himself.
Van realized when he was in college how much love he had for Mike when Mike decided to enlist in the Navy during the Vietnam War. It was devastating to Van had he recalls making a trip to Kansas City when Mike was heading for boot camp to see him again before he headed to California. The time Mike was away seemed to go by so slowly and Van thought of Mike every day. There were transitions in Van’s life where he would have loved to have Mike nearby, such as his wedding and the birth of his first child. The reunion when he returned safely was a memorable point in their lives. In their young adult years, they grew closer and got their families together whenever possible, although Van and his family always lived somewhere else and made their way back to Wichita a couple times a year.
Van even tried to adapt by going fishing with Mike on a family trip to the Ozarks, after which Mike was convinced that Van’s presence put a hex on his fishing success. They joked around for years afterward about which one of them threw Van’s lantern in the lake on that trip, and, although Mike’s trips to visit Van were not frequent, the two families always had a good time with lots of laughter and good memories. Mike was always there and supportive when a crisis impacted Van’s family. He was a strong shoulder when needed, especially when Vicki passed away several years ago. In recent years, Van looked forward to his weekend calls when Mike would say,
“Hi brother, what are you doing?”
It was evident to Van that Mike had a positive influence on so many others due to his loyalty as a friend, or a boss, and his fantastic sense of humor. Mike enjoyed his family and friends and lived his life to the fullest. Christmas and New Year were times for gathering family together.
Mike was always up for a new adventure. He went to the new Kansas Star Casino and won $9 grand. When Sue came home she found a shirt with “Kansas Star Jackpot Winner” emblazoned on it and a very happy Mike waiting to tell her about it. They used the money on a new lawn mower and tiller and on new counter tops.
Mike enjoyed friends, he treasured his friendships. Sue said
“Life as an adventure she never knew what was going to happen next.”
Then Cancer, and Sue gave Mike six months of loving care. Until Wednesday the 18th of December 2013 Mike made final arrangements to care for those he loved, called people to say good-by and died on his own terms.
Scott wrote:
Another memory I have of is when I was about 8 years old. Again we were fishing on the Caney River and I caught a fish. I reeled it in, close to the shore, and once I saw what it was I started yelling in
a panic: “It’s one of those things!” Dad ran over and started laughing so hard he couldn’t catch his breath. The fish got away while I was running. Perhaps I should explain that was the first time I had caught a Gar and I thought it was an Alligator.
Staci wrote of her father:
My Dad was a very supportive and fun Dad. As a young child it was always fun to go fishing with dad. He let us do all the things that we couldn’t do when Mom was around! Get filthy dirty, eat without washing our hands, and take a sip of his beer…all the things I now cringe thinking about as a mother myself!
So growing up, the big connection between my dad and I was softball. If he wasn’t the coach of the team then he was at every game. I got my competitive streak from him. We always got a kick out the fact that whenever we would leave for a game (mom didn’t go…it made her too nervous) Mom would always say, “The most important thing to do is to have fun and be careful.” We’d get out to the car and my dad would look at me real serious and say, “You do know that it’s always more fun when you win.” Then he’d give me a big laugh. As a coach for my teams he always made it fun. I have so many wonderful memories of him as my coach. He would get out on the field in his black shorts, his super white legs glaring out at everyone, and do his dance to Survivors’ “Eye of the Tiger” as it blared from the jam box. He earned the nickname the dancing bear. The year that we had an especially good team and we played a tournament and made it the finals. He had the whole team over for pizza in between the games and we would go play in the soccer field sprinklers as a team after the win. His support continued all through my softball and basketball careers in high school and into college when I started rowing. He told me more than once as he traveled to every regatta within driving distance that he found rowing a terribly boring sport. But he was at every regatta he could make it to…waiting for me at the finish line.
As I became an adult and joined the Navy, dad was there to give me advise and help. I decided to take the path of law enforcement as my career in the Navy, but when I was having the trouble grasping the skill of shooting a gun, Dad was there. Taking me out to a friend of his property and spending all day helping me practice.
I’ve always loved the family vacations. Even as little kid. We’d go as a whole family sometimes, Grandmas and Grandpas, aunts, uncles and cousins…it was so fun. So it seemed logical that when I married, Mom and Dad would be part of our vacations. And because of that , I now have many wonderful memories of my husband and children having family vacations together. From Dad trying to coax my husband, Randy, up to the stage by saying, “come on little buckaroo,” to Karaoke the Oak Ridge Boys song “Elvira”, keeping Gavin dry as he carted him around in a stroller at the zoo in the pouring rain while he was still on oxygen, helping my boys at the science museum by fishing with them in the fake river, and feeding zebras and kangaroos and petting albino pythons at the wildlife park.
I wish we’d had time to make many more memories but the memories I have of my dad as a wonderful father and grandpa are priceless.
SOURCE: Written and read by Pastor Robert Bull at Mike’s Memorial Service, Saturday, February 1, 2014
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