Friends mull deaths in Denville of Joan, John Bramhall
The daughter of retired Morris County Clerk Joan Bramhall, who was found dead with her husband John in their Denville home Thursday, said her parents were experiencing "enormous stress" in recent weeks and John Bramhall believed his wife of 54 years was suffering dementia.
Post-mortem examinations conducted Friday by Deputy Morris County Medical Examiner Carlos Fonseca revealed that Joan Bramhall's manner of death was a homicide caused by a gunshot wound inflicted upon her while John Bramhall's manner of death was listed as a suicide caused by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Morris County Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp,
SEE ALSO | Former Morris County clerk found dead in home with husband http://dailyre.co/1sh7hvp
In various ways, multiple county political figures and friends became aware of the deaths Thursday, and on Friday they continued to express grief and astonishment. They said that Joan Bramhall, 76, cut a stunning figure, was always impeccably dressed, smiling and in full make-up even while walking her cocker spaniel, Joe, that who died a week ago.
John Bramhall, a successful builder of high-end homes including many on Arden Road, typically was laid back and loved to go on hunting trips. When Bramhall retired in December 2013 after 15 years as county clerk, she announced she hoped to travel with her husband and cruise to Alaska.
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Gov. Chris Christie, who served with Joan Bramhall on the Morris County Freeholder Board in the 1990s, said in a statement: "Joan Bramhall was an outstanding public servant but an even better person. She was an extraordinarily selfless and generous person to friends and family alike."
"She honored me and Mary Pat with her friendship for the last 20 years. We considered her a dear friend and we are terribly saddened by her tragic passing. We send our condolences to Joan's family," Christie said.
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The couple's daughter, Lorraine "Lori" Bramhall, 53, of Brooklyn, N.Y. acknowledged in a telephone interview Friday that she has battled substance abuse problems for years and that her parents at various times raised all six of her children in Denville because she was incapable.
Lori Bramhall said she always felt "absolute love and support" from her mother but was estranged from her father. On Wednesday, one day before the deaths, John Bramhall obtained domestic violence restraining orders against Lori Bramhall and three of her children, according to the daughter and officials.
The restraining orders prohibited the parties from going to the luxurious home that John Bramhall's construction company had built. Two other officials confirmed that John Bramhall obtained restraining orders against three young adult grandchildren and his daughter. However, at the request of the defendants, a Family Court judge in Morristown on Friday dismissed the restraining orders because John and Joan Bramhall now are deceased.
"My father said I wasn't allowed to talk to my mother. I loved my mother and she loved me," Lori Bramhall said. She said her father a few months earlier told her he believed her mother had dementia. Lori Bramhall said she argued with her father over his perceptions, saying that her mother could be "forgetful" but she didn't notice any personality changes.
Lori Bramhall said that police disclosed to her son Stephen, 23, how her parents died, and he relayed the information to her. She said that her mother had two children from a relationship prior to her marriage to John Bramhall and they had two children together. A daughter Deborah died previously.
Netcong resident Keith Pierson, 63, said that he and his mother, Mary Pierson, 94, were friends with Joan Bramhall for decades. Mary Pierson will be honored in September for her years in Netcong as local Republican county committeewoman, Keith Pierson said, and he called Joan Bramhall to invite her to the ceremony.
"When I called about the tribute for my mother it took Joan a minute for her to focus. I sensed she was being nice just to be nice because someone called. She was very distant but then she seemed to mentally reboot and we had a good conversation and laughed," he said.
He said he also noticed a "vacant" demeanor in Bramhall during a visit he made late last year to the clerk's office before her retirement but she quickly recovered. He said she also recently asked him if the late President Richard Nixon had died.
Pierson said that Bramhall was one of the classiest women he ever met and that her husband kept a low profile, often not appearing at the political events his wife loved. Pierson said he recalls years of lunches and clam bakes and outings that he joined with his mother and Bramhall and Bramhall always projected an attitude of grace and fun.
"I'm really devastated. The natural spirit of the woman is what I'll remember. We will truly miss this great stateswoman of the county," Pierson said.
Morris County Clerk Ann Grossi on Friday was emotional about Bramhall's death and said she is planning some sort of tribute to her, perhaps a wreath and photographs of her to be displayed in the clerk's lobby.
"It's shocking because everyone loved Joan. She was a sweet, intelligent woman with a certain aura about her," Grossi said. She noted that Bramhall was a political leader — county Republican chairwoman, a freeholder and county clerk — and that she stepped into the political arena at a time when few women were active.
"Her vision was obviously bigger than the roles women used to be pigeon-holed into," Grossi said.
County Republican Chairman John Sette, on behalf of the GOP organization, called the murder-suicide "incomprehensible." U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen also extended condolences for a cherished friend.
"We pray for both Joan and John," Sette said. For whatever burdens they carried, the loss of these two friends left our community shocked and saddened. May the Lord our God hold them in the palm of his hands," Sette said.
Vincent Fox, a former politically active county resident who now lives in Tewksbury, said he often joked and conversed with John Bramhall about hunting and his friend would regale him about trips to Alaska and exotic parts. Fox said he was aware that Joan Bramhall had children by the time she married John Bramhall decades ago.
Fox said he still remembers how the Bramhalls were featured years ago in The Beacon, a publication by the Diocese of Paterson, on how they were raising their grandchildren.
"Amazing people. What a tragedy," Fox said.
Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@njpressmedia.com
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