Rance Braley

The world lost an absolutely one-of-a-kind man when Rance Olin Braley passed away peacefully at home under Hospice care on December 26, 2021. Born in Tucson, Arizona, on December 15, 1951, to Esther and O. K. Braley, Jr., Rance grew up mostly in Salina, Kansas, where his father was an officer at the local Air Force base. He enjoyed an idyllic childhood filled with epic snow-fort battles and friendly rivalry with his brother, Chad, and the boys next door. When his father retired from the Air Force, the family relocated to Grand Island, Florida. There Rance met his future bride, Linda Kauffman, on the school bus.

Rance graduated from Eustis High School, Lake Sumter Junior College, and the University of Florida. After a short stint as an elementary school teacher he managed Pizza Hut restaurants in Gainesville and Palatka, Florida. He found his true calling in mental health counseling, earning a Specialist degree in the field in 1989 and working at North Florida Evaluation and Treatment Center and at Lancaster Correctional Institution for approximately 30 years. During the 1980s he authored a competency manual for new residents at NFETC. Written in the form of an eye-catching comic book, it explained the legal system to new arrivals at the facility and was used by the State of Florida for years.

In 1986 Rance and his family moved to Archer, Florida. Rance became fascinated with the history of the small town and bonded with numerous longtime Archer residents. In 1990 the Archer Historical Society published his first book, “19th Century Archer.” The Alachua Press published his next book in 2004. It was a study of an Archer outlaw entitled “The Killing of Harmon Murray.” Rance worked for years on a manuscript about “20th Century Archer” but it was never finished. After moving to Archer he joined the Bethlehem Presbyterian Church, where he taught Sunday School, led the youth group, sang in the choir, and served as an elder and as Clerk of the Session for many years.

Rance was a man of prodigious creativity and wide interests. He built furniture and model railroads. He made dioramas, toys, stained-glass windows, and musical instruments, and he carved wood and stone. He drew, painted, and wrote short stories and poems. He delighted in wordplay and puns. Above all he was a devoted husband and father who always made family a top priority.

Rance was fascinated with the traces of bygone inhabitants of Florida. Walking over a broken field, he had an eagle eye for pottery, flint, colored glass, or old coins. In his youth, he sent important finds to the Anthropology Department at Florida State University. Captivated by the past, Rance must have been one of the few boys in the world to consider an Indian Mound a good place to take a high-school date!

Rance is survived by his wife of 48 years, Linda Kauffman Braley, by his brother Chad Braley and stepbrother Tom Sommers, by his four children Joshua (Laurel), Brenna (Brian), John (Erica), Sara (Kendall), and by his grandchildren: Kinsley, Leif, Aven, Natalie, Winifred, Casilda, and Galen. The family would like to thank Rance’s longtime caregiver, Clovis Liston, for helping him live out his final years with dignity, creativity, and fun. A memorial service will be held on Zoom at a date to be announced.