Julian Hearn Brackman Sr.

Julian H. Brackman Sr. passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early morning hours of March 10, 2026, in Woodstock, Georgia, at the age of 91.

Born on August 23, 1934, in Maysville, Georgia, to William (Bill) Lee Brackman Sr. and Nannie Lois Hearn, Julian was raised in a Methodist minister’s home alongside his older brothers Emory, John, and Bill Jr. The family moved across North Georgia as his father accepted new appointments, living in towns including Bremen, Chicopee, Hogansville, Atlanta, Cornelia, and Augusta. He graduated from the Academy of Richmond County in Augusta in 1951.

At sixteen, Julian accepted the call to ministry and received a local preacher’s license from Bishop Arthur J. Moore in December 1950. He began preaching in small country churches while still a teenager and continued his education at the Junior College of Augusta, Asbury College, Asbury Theological Seminary, and finally the Candler School of Theology at Emory University, where he earned his Master of Divinity in 1958. That same year he was ordained as an elder in the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. Over the course of his long career, he served churches in Tate, Ball Ground, Nelson, New Echota, Mizpah Rush, Cokesbury in Augusta, Smyrna, Commerce, Aldersgate in Augusta, Milledgeville, Conyers, Kingswood in Dunwoody, Douglasville, and Embry Hills in Tucker. He retired from active ministry in 1998.

In 1968, Julian married Jackie Reaves after meeting her at Smyrna Methodist Church. They shared 55 loving years together until her passing in November 2023. They raised two sons, Julian Jr. (Jay) and Joseph Emory (Joe). After retirement, Julian and Jackie traveled extensively, visiting more than 75 countries on all seven continents while serving as a Protestant minister aboard Holland America Cruise Lines. They cruised the world’s great rivers and visited every U.S. state multiple times. Julian was an avid hunter, fisherman, and golfer who attended The Masters for over sixty years and played Augusta National seven times. A lifelong student of Scripture, he read the Bible through each year since his teenage years, prayed faithfully for his family every day, and lived with deep gratitude and quiet faith.

Julian was predeceased by his parents, brothers Bill and John, and his beloved wife Jackie. He is survived by his brother Emory, sons Jay and Joe (Jenny), grandchildren Clarissa, Mikayla, Elliot, and Aiden, and many nieces, nephews, and dear friends.