Requiescat in Pace
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Fr. Donald Bramble, OP.
Fr. Donald (Philip Neri) Bramble, OP, a Dominican friar of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, died on September 23, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA from complications of Parkinson’s Disease, from which he suffered for 18 years.
Fr. Donald was born February 4, 1950 in Québec, Canada, and placed in an orphanage. His adoption by Francis Glenn Bramble and Marian Frances Grimes was finalized on March 23, 1954, and the family soon moved to Los Angeles. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1961. Fr. Donald graduated from Transfiguration Elementary School in 1964, and in 1968 he graduated from Daniel Murphy High School in Los Angeles where he became acquainted with the Order of Preachers. After studying at California State College from 1968-1970, Fr. Donald entered the Dominicans in October of 1970. He earned a BA in philosophy and a Master of Divinity in 1973 from the Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology. Fr. Donald was ordained June 4, 1976, by the Most Rev. Floyd Begin in Oakland. He then completed his MA in Moral Theology in 1978.
Fr. Bramble showed great zeal for study, completing a Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW), and was hoping to study for a Ph.D. However, he was needed to assist in parish ministry, so Donald obediently followed the wish of the province leadership and humbly put his own desires aside to meet the needs of the Province and local church.
Fr. Bramble then began many years of campus ministry at All Saints Catholic Newman Center in Tempe, Arizona; St. Catherine of Siena Newman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah; St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and St. Thomas More Newman Center in Tucson, Arizona. He also served in parochial ministry at Holy Rosary Church in Antioch, CA, but was most proud of his ministry at Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage, AK. He served there in 1978, and then returned in 2002 as Rector and later became Vicar General of the archdiocese. He was instrumental in planning the historic visit of St. Pope John Paul II to Anchorage, which included a Mass in the Cathedral and an outdoor Papal Mass which was the largest single gathering ever of people in the state.
He was preceded in death by his parents and twin sisters, Sr. Joanna Bramble and Jeanne Pieper. He is survived by his nieces Joanna Vose and Cathy McCutcheon, and nephews Jeff Pieper and Chris Pieper.
Memorial and Funeral arrangements are as follows:
Monday, September 30
7:30pm -- Vigil and Rosary at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church, Eagle Rock (2002 Merton Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90041)
Tuesday, October 1
9:00am -- Memorial Mass at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church, Eagle Rock (2002 Merton Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90041)
Wednesday, October 2
10:30am -- Funeral Mass at St. Dominic's Catholic Church, Benicia (475 East I Street, Benicia, CA 94510), immediately followed by the burial at St. Dominic's Cemetery, Benicia (585 Hillcrest Ave, Benicia, CA 94510)
To make a gift in memory of Fr. Donald Bramble, please click the button below.
It is a tradition of the Order of Preachers to establish a fund in the name of each of our departed brothers. Your donation to this memorial fund will support the education of our Dominican brothers still in formation, continuing the faithful legacy of our departed brother. It is a lasting tribute to Fr. Donald and a gift to the Dominican students who study in his footsteps.
