John Branscomb, who was killed at Navy Pier over the weekend, loved painting, music, politics and travel. But mostly he loved Chicago, his brother said Tuesday.
“We lost a good one,” Stanley Branscomb said. “I’m trying to find faults, but he really didn’t have them. He stayed by himself, and he just enjoyed the city.”
If there was a parade or an event downtown, Stanley Branscomb said his brother — who lived in the South Loop — would always be there.
John Branscomb, 56, was stabbed Sunday evening at a beer garden at the pier during an argument with another man, authorities said. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The other man, 64, from south suburban Riverdale, was released Tuesday without being charged. He had been hospitalized and underwent surgery for a small cut to the chest. That man “made multiple statements that the victim attacked him and he stopped the attack,” a police report.
Two alderpersons, including Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), whose ward includes Navy Pier. told the Sun-Times that the men knew each other and the fight was over a woman. Police didn’t release details on what led to the incident.
Stanley Branscomb said Tuesday he didn’t know if the men knew each other or if his brother currently had a girlfriend. He said he had asked police for any video footage of the incident.
John Branscomb, who was unmarried, was the youngest of five siblings. He loved his family deeply, his brother said. He also had a passion for music, and played the guitar and congas.
At the age of 11 or 12, Stanley Branscomb said, his brother found a love for painting, especially nature landscapes and animals.
“That’s what his peace was,” he said. “That’s what kept him going — painting and playing his guitar.”
John Branscomb graduated from Bowen High School, and grew up with his family in the South Chicago neighborhood. He kept a small friend group, Stanley Branscomb said, and he found peace and confidence in himself, rather than seeking validation from others. His brother said John Branscomb had been living in the Loop for 15 or 16 years.
“It was so ironic that when he finally moved from the neighborhood to downtown, everybody said, ’You’re moving up, you’re the downtown guy. You can do your paintings, you can paint the buildings and architecture stuff down there,’” Stanley Branscomb said. “And he got caught up enjoying the city.”
Stanley Branscomb, who is 67 and who still lives in South Chicago, said he would visit his brother about twice a month, sometimes watching him paint. He continued painting even though John Branscomb experienced seizures and was unable to work, he said.
“It was interesting, you know, because I really didn’t know he was that good,” Stanley Branscomb said. “So, when I finally did see some of his work, I kept pressing him to keep going. There was times that I would just go over there and sit back and watch him for hours, just painting. He loved doing that.”
While he enjoyed traveling and exploring the world, John Branscomb always loved the city of Chicago and was engaged in politics, his brother said.
The last time he saw his brother, he said, they went to a reggae music event at Daley Plaza, where they walked around, enjoyed the music and got food.
“Maybe two hours into it, my legs started giving out, so I had to go,” he said. “But he stayed. He stayed till after. He might even have helped them pack up, because he didn’t leave until the last beat.”