Please join us for a Celebration of Life event to remember Sterling Branton Jr., and his father Sterling Branton Sr., on Saturday, May 19 from 3:00-7:30 (with a program from approx. 4:00-6:00) at Poinsettia Pavilion, 3451 Foothill Road in Ventura, CA. Please RSVP to [email protected] if you plan to attend.
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Sterling Wesley Branton, Jr., born March 19, 1956, in Los Angeles, passed away on Thursday, February 15, 2018 in Ventura, CA at the age of 61. He was in demand as a professional musician, cherished as a friend and greatly loved.
Sterling was a 1973 graduate of Granada Hills High School and attended UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz and Cal State Northridge at various times from 1973-1985. Sterling was a Lecturer of Voice at UC Santa Barbara from 1993-1997. He sang with the High Holy Days Association in the San Fernando Valley from 1994-2014, and he was Director of Music at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Northridge for almost 30 years, from 1990-2017. He performed as an opera singer, violinist and conductor, and played with the Latin/jazz ensemble, Luna Gitana, producing the album “Illuminada” in 2005.
Sterling was an imposing figure, physically on stage and in his relationships with the thousands of people whose lives he touched. He gave love fully, freely and fearlessly and was richly loved in return. This “Gentle Giant” had the mind of an intellectual and the heart of a saint. His kindness, patience, good will and generosity were legendary and the many who loved him will feel his absence every day.
Sterling was predeceased by his mother, Julia Harvey Branton, in May 2017 and by his father, Sterling Wesley Branton, Sr., in October 2017. He is survived by his aunt and uncle, Sharon and William Harvey, a large family of Branton and Wiley cousins, his girlfriend, Dr. Julia Parke, and many close long-term friends.