Obituary: Martha Braunig

August 9, 1927 – August 11, 2025

Martha Braunig was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1927 to parents Carl and Nina Braunig. She had one brother, Carl, Jr. who preceded her in death. Life became somewhat turbulent when her father, a National Guard Captain, was inducted into the U.S. Army in 1940 and moved to Stepenville, Texas. After graduating from high school, Martha attended Indiana University and Texas University, then opted to attend the Tobe-Coburn School for Fashion
Careers in New York City. Not surprisingly, she landed a buyer’s job with Neiman-Marcus in Dallas. In 1959, Martha took a road trip to Colorado to visit a friend in Aspen. She was “hooked” and lost no time going back to Texas to pick up her dog and belongings. Martha first worked at Sabbatini’s Ski Shop, then at the Copper
Kettle Restaurant owned by Army and Sara Armstrong. Martha loved road trips and adventure and traveled throughout Turkey and the Middle East,
sharing a Volkswagon van and local buses with two friends. Martha left Aspen in 1972 to work with InterContinental Hotels in New York and various cities around the world. She returned to Aspen in 1975 to work as a hotel and restaurant consultant. In 1984 she began a 30 year career working with ESI (Executive Security International), a private security school in Aspen, training bodyguards and intelligence agencies. While at ESI Martha wrote several books, including the widely successful Executive Protection Bible. Retiring in 2014, she moved to Grand Junction, Colorado.