Dennis E. “Denny” Branson, a professional surveyor and owner of Branson Surveys Inc. who was engaged in countless land development projects in the Henderson area for more than four decades, died Saturday. He was 73.
“Denny has had an enormous impact on development in Henderson, over the last 40+ years,” said Tom Williams, the former general manager of Henderson Water Utility, in a social media post.
“He had a depth and breadth of knowledge about Henderson’s real estate and property history that will never be replicated,” Williams wrote. “Denny literally wrote the book on easement law in Kentucky…I mean literally, in the literal sense…he wrote a book.”
In fact, two books. In addition to the scholarly sounding “Advanced Easements, Servitudes, Encumbrances & Licenses,” Branson in 1996 published a book of local land plats that was widely used for years by others in the development field.
“Denny didn’t have to do that,” Brian Bishop, executive director of the Henderson City-County Planning Commission, said. “That was a resource that was used immensely by local offices, (such as) city codes, before we had GIS,” the online database of land plats and infrastructure resources.
Bishop, who knew and interacted professionally with Branson for more than 20 years, remembers him as “an invaluable resource of land-use knowledge. He had an elephant-like memory … He could remember things about parcels that no one else knew because he was intimately familiar with it.”
The surveying company was founded in 1968 by Branson’s father, Richard E., as Branson Surveying & Engineering. Denny Branson bought the company and changed its name to Branson Surveys Inc. in 1980. He became state-licensed as a Professional Land Surveyor two years later.
In the decades that followed, Branson’s company surveyed tens of thousands of acres in Henderson, Union and Webster counties, according its website, and was involved in the majority of industrial, commercial and residential developments in and around Henderson.
Among its major clients were Walmart, Tyson Foods, Lowes, Cracker Barrel, Reynolds Metals, Alcoa, Alcan (now Century Aluminum), McMillian-Bloedel (now International Paper) and Big Rivers Electric Corp.
In 2015, Branson Surveys was named the Kyndle (Henderson Chamber) Small Business of the Year.
Branson continued to work, often from home, until early this year, according to Clifton Krahwinkel, who began working for Branson Surveys in 1994 as a crew chief, later becoming vice president and, a couple of years ago, Branson’s partner and the firm’s president.
Branson, he said, concentrated on the business side of the enterprise—including countless appearances representing clients before the planning commission and other governmental bodies—while Krahwinkel oversaw day-to-day operations related to survey crews and construction activity.
Local regulators acknowledged sometimes disagreeing with Branson over his clients’ development proposals, but said conflicts were temporary and not personal.
“I think people always thought there was an adversarial relationship between the planning commission and Denny, but I never felt that,” Bishop said. “We deal with complicated issues. There will be varying opinions of how to do things. A little head butting, and then all forgotten, as far as I’m concerned.”
“Denny was a very bright, very knowledgeable man,” Tommy Joe Fridy, the planning commission’s longtime attorney, said in a message. “He always had an opinion about anything and everything.
“Dennis was better at laying out a subdivision than anyone,” Fridy continued. “Dennis knew the subdivision and zoning laws and regulations, inside and out.
“Dennis and I often disagreed, but he was never disagreeable,” he said. “And one disagreement did not carry over to the next project, next task or next meeting. Denny was usually willing to compromise.
“Denny was a great friend. I will miss him.” Fridy said.
“I respected him tremendously and always marveled at his knowledge of both survey work and local codes and zoning laws,” Henderson County Judge-Executive Brad Schneider wrote in a social media post.
Schneider recalled that Branson served on the Henderson Chamber of Commerce’s Taking Care of Business Committee, which worked to promote business friendliness by local regulators. “That committee got a lot of good things done for our business community, and Denny was in the middle of it all,” he wrote.
“Denny was a book of knowledge!” longtime Realtor Judy Bugg wrote in an online remembrance. “Anytime that I called regarding a real estate question, he was always happy to assist and his staff would likewise.”
“He was a smart man,” Bishop said. “A quirky dude, but smart.”
“One of the things Denny would do, if someone wanted to develop property, Denny would come up to planning commission as a liaison at no charge,” Bishop said.
Sure, that might ingratiate him to the property owner, who might then hire his firm for technical work.
But Bishop believed Branson had a different motivation. “I think Denny had a deep love of Henderson,” he said.
“Denny’s love for Henderson was unwavering and it showed through his skills as a master craftsman and his dedication to making Henderson a better community in his role in the development of our Planning and Zoning Ordinance,” City Manager Buzzy Newman said in a statement.
Branson’s obituary can be found here.
