PIRU CAMPGROUND HOST BRAUN DIES AT AGE OF 75.

Byline: Daily News

PIRU - Don Braun, a Lake Piru campground host and longtime teacher and dean at Notre Dame High School, died Sunday of natural causes. He was 75.

Braun taught algebra and Spanish for 25 years at Notre Dame in Sherman Oaks and was dean of men until the mid-1980s, daughter-in-law Mindy Braun said.

Working at the Lake Piru campground was a second career. He was a park ranger for 10 years after retiring from Notre Dame, and later became a resident campground host.

Braun loved the outdoors and was an avid hunter and fisherman, but it was his kindness that friends and family recalled Tuesday.

``He was more than a teacher,'' Mindy Braun said. ``He always went the extra mile to help a kid.''

``He was the best friend you could ever have,'' neighbor Michele Cochran added. ``He was kindhearted. He never turned his back on anybody.''

Braun also loved watching his grandchildren's sports - a frequent fan at Valencia High School baseball games where he last watched the Vikings, led by grandson and pitcher Jeff Braun, play Notre Dame.

Born in Minnesota and a graduate of St. John's University there, Braun served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1946 aboard the USS Biscayne.

He later moved west with his wife Viola, who preceded him in death. The couple had five children, including sons Don Jr. and Dean, who died when they were young.

Braun is survived by daughter Patricia Braun; sons Dave and Dan; and grandchildren Jason, Brianne, Danny, Jeff and Amanda Braun.

A rosary will be recited for Braun at 7 p.m. Thursday at Skillin-Carroll Mortuary, 600 Central Ave., Fillmore. A funeral Mass is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Friday at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 1048 Ventura St., Fillmore.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to any charity.