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Elliot Branson died peacefully in his sleep early Sunday morning June 1, 2025, in Carbondale, Colorado.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Robert Earl Branson and Leila Ruth (née Parker) Branson, and his brother, Richard Branson. He is survived by his wife, Harriet “Hattie” (née Motley); and his two children, Rachael Ventura of Portland, Oregon, and Jeremy of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He also is survived by two grandchildren, Kai and Lan, and a great-grandchild, Rosemary.
Elliot’s life was full of stories of adventures, good friends too numerous to mention here, and ultimately, lots of fun. He grew up in Bryan/College Station, Texas, and attended high school there before studying engineering and philosophy at Texas A&M. He went on to earn his Juris Doctorate at the University of Texas at Austin. He was proud that his most meaningful work as an attorney was representing those that had the least, either while working in the Texas Attorney General’s Office in the mid-1980s, Mexican American Legal Aid Defense (MALDEF) or Texas Rural Legal Aid in the 1990s or in private practice representing injured patients in medical malpractice cases.
In 2006, Elliot and Hattie met in Aspen and over the last two decades, they traveled the world, including Fiji, Switzerland and France. Elliot was quick to point out that marrying Hattie was the happiest adventure of his life.
Elliot considered himself extraordinarily fortunate to have returned to Aspen, Colorado — a place he first visited as a young college student with his lifelong friend, Bill Hamilton, to ski and hike. Years later, Aspen was where he would meet Hattie and fall in love. Elliot was most happy with the view of Mt. Sopris every morning and evening; he would send countless images to his children daily while commenting on how the top of the mountain had too little snow, or a coating sufficient enough to allay fears of climate change until the next day. His love for the environment ran deep and his favorite time of year was autumn when the Aspen trees changed and the valley floor took on a vibrant parade of rich colors.
A lifelong music lover, as a high school student he played electric bass in a band with his schoolmates dubbed “The Extremists,” playing various gigs at school including his high school’s dances. He took pride by passing his love of good music along to his children and friends. He loved Bill Haley and the Comets, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne, Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison, Lovin’ Spoonful, just to name a small fraction of his varied tastes. He often was on the lawn at the Aspen Music Festival concerts during the summers, and was a proud and steadfast supporter and attendee of the Cowboy Corral in which Hattie sang.
He was a voracious reader with an unquenchable appetite for knowledge, be it the classics, history, politics, poetry or literature. Up until his health disallowed it, he was a regular at the periodic Aspen Center for Physics lectures. Often he would corner the speaker after their lecture and chat with them long after the presentation was over.
Elliot’s life was rich with friends and loved ones. We should all count ourselves blessed and fortunate to have the family, friends and fortune he experienced.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the ACLU, MoveOn or the Cowboy Corral.