Remembering “Mr. B”

BROOKSVILLE – As his friends described Brooksville icon Tom Bronson, they used a slew of words.

But longtime friend Jim Kimbrough, another Brooksville icon, needed only one. “Tommy was omnipresent,” Kimbrough said.

Bronson, who was beyond instrumental in almost all things Brooksville — community involvement, education, athletics, his church and other churches and the mining industry — for more than 50 years, died on Aug. 31. He was 88.

“Tommy was bigger than life in Brooksville and the state of Florida,” said Kimbrough, who spent more than 50 years as a top executive at Sun Bank, which later became Sun Trust, and walked in the same circles as Bronson. “He was involved in everything. He was an anchor in this community in every way. In Tommy’s world, there was only one way to do things. And that was the right way. His footprint is on the community of Brooksville forever.”

It’s impossible to pick just one thing that Bronson achieved, was involved in or was known for because there were so many.
“His obituary was beautiful, but it was only Chapter One,” said Hernando High baseball coach Tim Sims, who grew up in Brooksville at the same time as Bronson’s four children. “You could write a book — a very long book — about all the things he did.”

Newspapers can’t cover as much territory as books. So, a lengthy summary will have to suffice.

Those in younger generations might be surprised to know that Bronson wasn’t born and raised in Brooksville because it seemed like he was a prominent figure there forever.

In reality, Bronson was born in Gainesville and accomplished quite a bit before he arrived in Hernando County. At Gainesville’s P.K. Yong High School, he earned All-State honors in football, basketball and baseball and served as president of the school’s Class of 1954. The University of Tennessee awarded him a scholarship to play baseball and football. However, Tennessee football coach Bowden Wyatt eventually convinced Bronson to concentrate on one sport. And Bronson played it very well for the Volunteers.

He started 32 straight games at fullback and defensive back on Tennessee teams that consistently were ranked in the top 10 in the nation. Wyatt once called him “the best Vol I ever coached.” But Bronson realized that athletics wasn’t the sole purpose of college. He earned a degree in Business Management, was president of his senior class and served as Battalion Commander in the ROTC. Although he was drafted by the National Football League’s Detroit Lions, Bronson chose to enlist in the Army and was a Second Lieutenant with the Second Infantry Division from 1958 to 1960.

While in college, he made his only football trip back to his hometown and scored all three touchdowns in a 20-0 win against the University of Florida. But something more significant happened on that trip. Bronson was introduced to Sarah Alice McKethan from perhaps the most iconic family in Brooksville history. They married in 1957.

After the military, the couple moved to Brooksville in an event that eventually impacted the community on many levels. Bronson went to work for his father-in-law, Bud McKethan, at Brooksville Rock Company, which became Florida Mining and Materials in 1971. Bronson served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company until it was sold in 1979. After that, Bronson was an executive with several mining and cement companies.

“Tom my was very competitive as an athlete and as a businessman,” Kimbrough said. “That’s part of what made him so successful in everything he did.”

Through it all, Bronson smoothly walked with royalty and common people. “He was as comfortable going to breakfast at The Rooster with you and me as he was with (inaugural Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach) John McKay, (legendary Tampa Tribune sports editor) Tom McEwen and the Governor,” Sims said.

Bronson and Sarah Alice raised daughters Mary Alice, Beth and Lynda and son Tom and they all lived deeply in the Brooksville community through sports, education and religion.

Bronson served as president of the Brooksville Kiwanis Club, the Hernando High Quarterback Club and was also active in countless other sports and community organizations. He led the charge in the construction of Hernando High’s Tom Fisher Stadium and made sure lots of other projects, particularly in youth sports, got done.

“When Tom Bronson put his hand out, it wasn’t for a handout. It was a hand up,” Sims said. “He was the first to volunteer for everything. He was involved in everything at every level and it didn’t matter if that meant digging a ditch or working with politicians.”

But Brooksville wasn’t the only beneficiary of Bronson’s efforts. He was involved with the University of Tennessee, the University of Florida, the University of Tampa and Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia. Around Brooksville and the state, Bronson was known as “Tommy” by his friends, but younger generations had another name for him.

“I couldn’t call him “Tommy” because I respected him too much,” said Sims in a statement that many of his contemporaries have echoed. “To me, he was always Mr. B.”

Bronson endured personal tragedy in 2000 when Sarah Alice died from ovarian cancer. Four years later, he married Connie Hollingsworth, who is from Knoxville, where the University of Tennessee is located.

Even in later years, Bronson and Connie remained active in Brooksville and his legend continued to grow. They were huge sports fans. More importantly, they were huge Brooksville fans.

“His work ethic and legacy will live on for years and years in everyone who played sports in the youth leagues and at Hernando High School,” Sims said. “His work ethic and legacy will live on in the mining industry. in everyone he ever met. I know I’m going to always remember his handshake because that was truly special. It wasn’t necessarily because of his great physical strength. It was because you could just shake his hand and know that he was a man who truly cared.”

Visitation will be held from 5:00-7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 6, 2024, at Saxon Manor Garden Room (103 South Saxon Ave., Brooksville, FL 34601). Orange attire is encouraged. A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Saturday, September 7th, at 10:30 am at Faith Church Brooksville (200 Mt. Fair Ave., Brooksville, FL 34601), followed by a Graveside Ceremony at Brookville Cemetery (1275 Olmes Rd., Brooksville, FL 34601) with visitation and refreshments at Brooksville Country Club (23446 Links Dr., Brooksville, FL 34601).