august 6, 1922 - december 12, 2009
rank: First Lieutenant
Dates of Service: 1943 - 1951
John Bratton, Jr was born August 6, 1922, in Clarendon County, South Carolina to John Bratton and Annie Lewis Drake Bratton. His family moved to Raleigh in 1926. He attended Hayes Barton Elementary School and Needham Broughton High School, where he played on the football team. He received a football scholarship to attend NC State University, where he majored in Civil Engineering and was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity.
In 1942 he enlisted in the US Marine Corps and was transferred with the USMC V12 Program to Duke University, where he graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering. He always remained a dedicated and supportive Wolfpack fan. He attended OCS in Quantico and became a First Lieutenant in the USMC, serving in Okinawa and Manchuria, China in 1945 as well as in the USMC Reserve until 1951.
He married Mary Constance Michelle Telfair in 1944 and returned after the war to live in Raleigh with his wife and their first child. He began his career as an engineer for Superior Stone Company, progressing to Vice President of Operations before he left in 1970 to start Wake Stone Corporation with his oldest son John in Knightdale.As a highly respected leader in his industry, Mr. Bratton served on the board of the National Stone Association and as president of the NC Aggregates Association. Under his leadership and with the help of his three sons and many loyal employees, Wake Stone has grown into a thriving company with five quarry operations in North and South Carolina and continues to be headquartered in Knightdale.
Mr. Bratton was a cradle Episcopalian, who had been a member of Christ Church in Raleigh since 1926. Over the years he gave generously of his time and resources. He served a total of 12 years on the Christ Church Vestry, serving as Junior Warden and twice as Senior Warden. He volunteered to help those less fortunate by spending nights at the Ark, a homeless shelter in downtown Raleigh. He was a board member of Saint Mary’s School and Oakwood Cemetery. He was a generous supporter of Saint Mary’s School, All Saints School in Vicksburg, MS, St. Andrews Sewanee School in Sewanee, TN, the Society of the Cincinnati, and Historic Brattonsville, SC, the restored home of his ancestor Revolutionary War Colonel William Bratton.
He was an avid outdoorsman. He especially loved quail hunting, fly-fishing and horseback riding, all of which he enjoyed well into his eighties. He also enjoyed playing golf with his friends. Mr. Bratton was a true Southern gentleman, kind, thoughtful, polite, generous and patriotic.
