BROWN, Brian Anthony

July 7, 1983 – May 31, 2024

There was never any doubt that Brian had arrived. His boisterous personality made all of his entrances grand. Sadly, on May 31, 2024 he chose to make his final exit, leaving broken hearts throughout his circle of family and friends.

Born Brian Anthony Brown on July 7, 1983 in Victoria, BC, he was also known as Brian Young during his childhood in Beaverton. There he attended public school, played minor ball and made regular visits to the Strand theatre and the forbidden brickyard. Life thereafter took him to Tottenham and Keswick where he enjoyed more adventures, many the product of his curious mind.

Nicknames find their way to some people easily, and Brian had many. His very first, ‘Bean’, was bestowed by his dad, followed shortly by his sister’s affectionate ‘Spudrick’. Others are much too inappropriate to mention here but those who knew and used them will recall them with fondness. The identity that he dreamt of most was ‘Brian Brown, author’. A lifelong passion for reading and writing led him to reach his goal of publication when his children’s book, The Professional Adventuring Friends, was released in 2022.

While writing gave him a place to turn where he could find peace, it didn’t pay the bills. To that end, he worked at various factories in the Barrie and Newmarket areas where he earned recognition for his dedication to any job set before him. He was let go just once, from a supervisory position, when he ordered his uncooperative crew to go stand in the corner. They did. Brian was only joking and, though his HR rep understood, there was really no choice. Still, he felt it was one of the funniest reasons for being fired he’d ever heard.

Unfortunately, that sense of humour and comedic approach to so many events of his life could not protect him from the toll that mental illness takes. His struggles and his attempts to conquer them may best be described with the words of Herman Melville that Brian wore inked on his arm. “I know not all that may be coming but be it what it will, I will go to it laughing”.

The family asks that any donations made in Brian’s memory be directed to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) or the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

A memorial event will follow on a date as yet undetermined. Online condolences and sharing of memories may be posted at www.roadhouseandrose.com.