Robert F. Branle

Robert Florent Branle was born on June 13th, 1933 in Arlon, Belgium. He was the youngest child of 4, born to Anna and Leon Branle. He loved the outdoors and coffee and croissants and, most of all, his family. He was an entertainer, always aware of how those in his presence were feeling, always ready with a joke, and when that joke hit, you could count on him to laugh the hardest with his signature scrunched up nose, open mouth, and hand in the air. Robert Branle was warm and sweet and Robert Branle was brave. As a young child during World War 2, Robert’s world was rocked when Nazis came to his hometown. In the frenzy of their arrival, Robert and his parents were separated from his older siblings. Nazi soldiers took over their home and Robert remembered vividly his mother’s tears as she feared the worst for her 3 eldest children. He recalled going to school and finding that his Jewish friends were missing. Suddenly students were required to speak German rather than their native French. Neighbors were interrogated and even tortured in plain view of the public. A bright spot came when his siblings, Raymond, Simone, and Paulette, were found in a refugee camp and returned to the family. After the war, Robert grew up surrounded by his close-knit extended family in Arlon and served in the Belgian Army. He shared how he came into the service with a nervous stutter, but grew confident during this time and overcame that stutter. In November 1959, at the age of 26, following in the footsteps of his brother Raymond and sister Paulette, Robert boarded a ship called the Liberte and came to America. He forgot his inoculation records and was detained on Ellis Island until those papers could be sent from Belgium. He said those were scary days, but in true Robert fashion, he overcame. He settled in New Jersey and worked for General Electric before taking a risk and starting his own machine repair business, GVG Electric, in Manville, New Jersey. Robert’s stepson Roy Buss and son Mark Branle were the light of his life. Their early childhood was spent skiing and camping and traveling back to Belgium. Robert built a house with a pool in Califont, New Jersey and savored his corner of the world, teaching his boys to fish and hunt and sharing his love of cars. After retiring, he poured his heart into his friendships and his family. He was a silly grandpa, equally funny and nurturing and warm and kind. On the morning of June 9th, Robert held the hands of his son Mark and daughter-in-law Rebecca as he reunited with his parents, siblings, and his beloved partner Patricia. He is desperately missed by Mark and Rebecca and their children Anna, Brady, and Caleb, as well as Roy and Donna Buss and their daughter Nicole. He spent his final years at Keystone Villas in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, close to the home of Mark and Rebecca. There, he leaves behind dear friendships he made with the amazing Keystone staff. As Robert fought through cancer and heart failure in his last month, he had a phrase that he often repeated, “Stay Sweet.” He said that life is best when we’re sweet to one another, and he wanted to be remembered as sweet. Robert, you were the sweetest. You were our favorite. You were so brave and so good and you leave us with broken hearts, but also with so much pride. How lucky we are to have loved and be loved by you. You stayed sweet and we’ll stay sweet for you.