Hi Dad, Not to worry like you always tell me but this time you can’t tell me but I still worry. I’m so sorry I did not make it down to Timmins in time to talk to you. I’m sure you would have preferred this but not me. I would have preferred to talk to you and say goodbye to you. But by the time I got to Timmins it was too late you were already on life support. But I have to keep the good memories present and like you say not to worry I will take over and continue to make sure that everyone is doing fine like you would like it to be. We love you dad/grandpa. May you rest in peace.

I will always hold your memory in my heart as my big brother you will always be. You were always there to make sure everything was OK never thought of yourself to this day. I held your hand to see you through, now you’re in God’s hands and he’ll take care of you. See you later. Always love you sister Connie

“Jeeeeeeesus Christ” Love you always sister Mary

Here is to pepsi, chocolate bars, and survivor!!!

You are my brother and always will be in my heart for ever and always. Rest in peace bro. Love you and see you again soon.

My condolences to your family and friends. I lived in a building that Brian took care of in Sudbury. He would always say hi, ask about my son if he wasn’t with me and played with the children at the back of the building. He knocked on my door one night and had a fish tank and all the accessories for my son, another tenant was giving it away and he thought of us. I will now have to fill that tank with a fish named “Brian”. I will miss waving at him as he walked to Tim Horton’s, a favorite place of his. Coincidently, I work with his sister Mari and live across the street from his sister Barb. Rest in peace Brian. You will be missed and always loved.

To Rhonda, Kerry & all of Brian’s entire family These are the responses that I had received so far that were meant for all of Brian’s family that I have been asked to share with them. These are from Mari Tennant. Kind words & warm hugs were received from Heidi, Leslie, Shelly, Suzanne, Tracy, Carol, Sherry, Debbie, Eileen, Cindy, Nicole, Rhonda, Colleen, Sue, Shelley, Steve, Steven, Sherry, Murray, Gisele, Allyson, Monica, Stephanie, Debbie, Jessica, Anna, Marcel, James, Jess, Cathy, Darryl, Don. Sincere well wishes from Liz, George & Liz’s mother. Brian was a hard worker, very good work done, kind, so much fun to be around & smiling all the time. We are sure gonna miss him. Regards to Brian’s entire family. A friend of his who said “I knew Brian, hell of a good guy. Without a doubt, he’ll be missed. Bonnie who is an ex-K.L’er was reminiscing about some good times & funny stories she had shared with Brian. One is, Bri said, “if anything bad happens to me, tell Mari that I have a lot of money in my freezer” (ha, ha). Feelings that some people had were put into words & written on cards that I had received: I would see him a lot walking back from Tim’s smiling with a coffee in his hand. I’d honk the car horn at him & smile & wave & he would smile & wave back. So I knew what to get Brian before I moved away. I’ve got it, a Tim’s gift card would always make him very happy. Allyson Your brother, Brian was a brave man who brought delight to many lives around him. Heidi Hold on to the wonderful memories. Cindy Focus on all your wonderful times spent together. Steven In the brief times that I met Brian, I found him to be a kind and gentle man. I am sure you will miss him. Don Memories will stay with you forever, my thoughts are with you & your family. Nicole Oh my God, I can’t believe it. We had so many laughs working together. Thanks for the good times Brian. Vie

I’ve known Brian for years. A man you could joke with but, a very giving man. When I had my first child he made her a chest and a guitar hanger for her door with her name on it. Which I still have. He would call and ask if I needed a couch or other items he thought I could use when I went through a rough period time in my life. His kind heart and joking personality will always be remembered. Rest In Peace..but, your memories will live on. Thanks Brian for all you have done for us all.

I talked to this lady yesterday, sorry, didn’t catch her name. She said to me, that almost everytime I went outside there was Brian in the yard surrounded by all these kids, jumping on him & showing him something new that they had learned. It was so funny to watch. She said Brian was like a magnet to them. They’re laughing & playing all around him. He just shook his head back & forth & replied, “yep, I’m going to see my new grand-daughter Angel soon” and he did just that.

A mutual friend of Brian’s and mine asked me If I would send this to all of the family to read. From Mari. Brian was a “jack of all trades”, a carpenter & mechanic. YOu could call on him for anything around the house or outside to fix or build, he would be right there. He would never say no to help you out. He had a big heart. When microwaves first came out, I asked Bri to put my microwave stand together. It was one of those tall ones, cupboards at the top and bottom and you had to put it together from scratch. I was working night-shift, he met me at my door at 8:30 AM. I told him I had to get some sleep and told him to let himself out. When I woke up to start supper for my children, I walked in the kitchen and he had it all set up in the corner. I smiled to myself and thought, what a good friend. I have so many good memories with Brian from fishing, camping & dancing. I am blessed to have known him. He will be missed, sincerely, your friend, Rita.

Brian What can i say about a man knew for a short period of time. And than it seems that i knew him for 20 years.The times we spent at our picnic table drinking pop and smoking cigarettes,and joking around,I will always remember the the times you spent with me Kerry and Angel. You are greatly missed,My friend and mentor love Marc…..

A bunch of us were over at Rhonda’s one day to see her new house. Of course, I wanted to see the backyard. Take a look, it’s really nice, Rhonda said. So I walked towards the patio door & bamm, right into the window I went & all Bri said was “I told you so”. Meaning he knew that I was going to walk right into the door. Did we ever laugh.

One summer day a couple of years ago, Brian called me up & asked if I would pick him up at the library on Regent St in Sudbury. Sure, I’ll be right there, I said. He gave me directions about 5 times, Ok I got it, I know where you’re talking about, see you soon. I accidently went right by him & headed down hwy 69 South not knowing that I passed him by. I turned around & he was almost in the middle of the road so I wouldn’t miss him again. Well, all I know is that when Brian told this story, he said “now you see her, now you don’t. He offered to drive back & of coarse I gave up the wheel which I often did. Better safe than sorry.

Brian was working on Con & Jay’s roof which was covered with a tarp. A very high wind came along which blew the tarp about ten feet in the air. Next thing you know Brian was holding on to this tarp for dear life flying around in the air like a bird. He had no idea if it was going to land safetly or not. Eventually he did land back on to the roof safely. I asked him what that experience was like? I should have know he was going to say something like this. “That was neat, I really liked it. Now I know what birds feel like when they are flying” Would you do it again, I asked & Brian said, “I sure would”. Well I freakin laughed so hard.

This story takes place when Brian was a teenager & still at home in Federal, KL. It was a Saturday night & our dad was getting ready to go out for awhile to have a few, let loose & enjoy himself. The boys, Brian & Ken already got all decked out & were having a blast somewhere enjoying their Saturday night also. Some of their bathroom toiletries were left on the bathroom counter. I guess our dad was in a hurry or something or maybe his mind was pre-occupied. He accidentally reached for & started to brush his teeth with what he thought was toothpaste. All of a sudden, we hear this yell coming from the bathroom. “Those darn boys…they left the brylcreme on the counter & yes, you guessed it, our dad had brushed his teeth with brylcreme which is grease to snazzy up your hair. Gives you quite the doo. That was hilarious.

Dad I remember the time I asked you to babysit Dallas he was 5 years old at the time I had a staff meeting go to and you did not hesitate to babysit. When you got to my house Dallas asked you to read a book and you told him you couldn’t because you for got your glasses so he asked you to play cars on the floor and you told him you knee was sore but you did anyway.I remember asking you if your knee is so sore why don’t you go see a doctor and your usual response was why what are they going to do they don’t now what they are doing anyway. The other thing I remember is when my phone would ring and I would ask you why you did not answer the response you would always give is “why it is not for me” It didn’t matter if your were feeling well or not you would give your all for for grandchildren. You will be sadly missed. Not a day goes by that I think of you dad. I love you. Rhonda

How precious could have Brian’s black leather jacket have been? Well to his brother Johnny, it meant a lot. Brian and his black leather jacket sure left a good impression on a lot of people. Johnny liked it so much that it took him about 5 years of convincing until he finally bought one. He wanted to look just like Brian did, cool as a cucumber. Johnny never took it off for about another 5 years until it was worn out. I used to see Johnny trying Bri’s jacket on & feeling so cool in it. I’d say to Johnny, you look just like Bri. How cool is that.

I was making supper one night for the girls & Brian. How hard could a turkey be to cook I thought. Easy stuff. I occasionally checked the bird to see how it was coming along. Finally, when I thought it was time to take it out of the oven, I asked Brian if he would carry it out & put it on the oven top for me. So he did, he took the lid off the pan & then all of a sudden, I hear this roar of laughter. What, what’s going on? It’s cooked isn’t it? Took awhile for the laughter to settle down then Brian said, “you cooked it upside down”, the legs are sticking up in the air”. Well we managed to enjoy our supper anyways. Just goes to show you how kind Brian was that he always looked at the bright side of things. I also remember him saying, “it doesn’t matter, it gets all turned upside down in your stomach anyways”. That made me feel better but you know, he was right.

I remember it was a summer Saturday night & there was a number of people at Brian, Rhonda & Kerry’s house. We were playing cards, playing music & playing jokes on each other. We all were kind of hungry & decided to order a couple of pizza’s. Leona placed Brian’s order & this is how it went. “Hi, I would like to order a cheeze pizza pleaase a what, a cheeze only pizza, cheeze only, yes, I’ve never heard of that said the operator well now you have are you sure, you want a cheeze only pizza yessss, Leona was getting fed up, cause this order was taking about 10 minutes to place, meanwhile we were all laughing our butts off at her okay, okay, it’s on its way The moral of the story is that Brian’s “cheeze only” pizza is now on most of the pizza places menu’s. If he would have only knew, he just may have have invented the “cheeze only” pizza ha, ha, ha

Getting up at 6:45 AM is never too easy for some people. Actually, that is the best time that certain people thought would be be funny to watch someone else just getting up also. Here’s what happened one particular morning. As usual, everyone in the house was already up, Brian, Rhonda & Kerry. I thought, a cup of tea would be nice right about now. (I knew everyone was looking at me, so I thought I’d put a little extra effort into this project). I took the cup out of the cupboard, poured some water into it… I then sat down in the chair in the corner of the livingroom. All eyes were on me. Made me a bit nervous, what are they all staring at I thought? Time seemed to go by slowly. I then asked what is wrong with your microwave, I don’t hear it running? No one answered. I got up & looked in the mic & my cup of tea wasn’t in there. I then asked, where is my cup of tea? “I saw you put it in the fridge Bri said” The roof caved in with laughter. You know what, that is too much damn work to do so early in the AM. At least everyone started their day right with a good laugh even if it was cause of something I did.

Mom & I were frying some chicken wings one day for supper in Thompson. Brian took a look at his plate & replied “where did you get the baby chickens, do they ever taste good?” They’re not baby chickens I said with a chuckle, they are the adult wings & when you cut them in half you end up with what looks like a drum or leg. Oh, did I ever laugh at that one, for a change. Brian might have been able to bake some awesome desserts, which he did often, especially home-made chocolate cake, but he left the chicken wings up to others to cook. There was even a good time to be had by all even around the supper table.

One autumn day, I was having some friends over for a turkey, lasagna, scalloped & boiled potatoes, baked beans, macaroni, ceasar & veggie salads, buns, gravy & dessert supper. After supper, Bri decided to help with the dishes & put the rest of the food away. He figured I did a lot of work to have this supper, so he would like to help with the clean-up. He covered all of the left-overs with foil. I mean everything. I was not a happy camper when I opened up the fridge & seen that. “I can’t see what is covered up. I’ll have to open everything up first, I said”, disgruntled. Christmas day rolled around & my name was called to receive a gift. “Who is it from? The name read Brian. Oh my god, I felt soooo special. I was a little choked up. Thank god I was able to hold back the tears. I proceeded to open up the gift with tender care. I couldn’t believe my eye balls when I did open it. It was 6 – 25 foot long packages of foil. Yep, you got it, I sure did get foiled that Christmas. Nice paybacks & practical jokes seemed to amuse Bri & everyone involved very much. ha, ha.

One early evening in August a few years back, Rhonda, Dallas & I were taking one last swim before closing up my trailer for the year. Rhonda & Dallas were already in the water swimming & I was wading on the dock. I had my leg dangling off the dock in the water trying to get used to the temperature of it before jumping in. I felt a tug on my leg, just thought it was the regulars on the campground playing a trick on me. Then I felt another tug & a hard pull on my leg but this time, my leg was being pulled under the dock. What the heck was that. I lifted my leg out of the water about a foot & there was a musky with his teeth stuck in the bottom of the foot. I couldn’t believe this. I yelled as hard as I could “Rhonda, get Dallas out of the water”. Dallas was already mostly out of the water, he had only one rung on the ladder to go & he was out. He was pretty quick. When I told Brian about this incident, he was concerned enough to ask me if I was ok but also he replied “do you know how long I’ve tried to catch one of those, I’m taking you fishing with me next time”. It sounds just like the movie Jaws. Oh don’t we all have loving, caring brothers just like Bri. (ha). Well family & friends, I’m signing off for now. It being Thanksgiving weekend & I truly believe we all have a lot to be thankful for. After my upside down turkey escapade, I have since learned how to cook a turkey right-side up. Luv you all a great deal. xxxxx ooooo

As I walking around downtown today after having lunch, I came across an ex-co-worker. She was wondering what’s up, so I told her the news about my brother Brian. She said, The one that joked around all the time? “Augh, I’m sorry for your loss, I really liked him”. Then she smiled as she was silently thinking about something that made her laugh while we were all working together. I didn’t ask her what it was, I just left her with her happy thought, whatever it may be and she was on her way. Pauline

As we journey through life, we begin to realize that all things great and small must come to an end These are a few kinds words of comfort, warmth and truth spoken to you from a sister, sister-in-law, aunt, great aunt and most of all a caring friend Although Brian’s journey in this life is never complete or through His ultimate mission now is to guide and keep a close watch over you He was fortunate enough to be amongst people who loved and cared for him a great deal He had learned to love, laugh and smile and most of all feel And what Brian had felt on his day was a touch from a visiting angel who had placed upon him a sacred kiss That will last until eternity and from friends and family he will be forever missed If you look up to the sky and find a twinkling star It may seem quite a distance, but it’s not that far That’s what Brian calls home and now we know where you are In our life, the rest of our life and always in our hearts

We were having a great weekend relaxing in the boat fishing on a nice summer day, that’s what Brian, Dallas, my friend Leslie and I were doing. No fish yet. Oh! wait I feel a bite. I began to excitedly reel in. Meanwhile, Brian’s line was so badly tangled up in the water that it looked like a giant bird’s nest. Not wanting to salvage it, Brian decides ” to heck with it, I’m just gonna cut it”. Snip. OK, now I can no longer reel in anymore. My wheels were spinning but not going anywhere. Yep, that sure did happen. He accidently cut my line as well as his. My new sinker, leader & loure were forever at the bottom of Crooked Lake. Unretrievable to me anyways. I have no idea where my fish went to. Brian looked over at us & yep, you got it, “you and everybody else knows that smile that he gave”. I think we had hotdogs that night. It sure wasn’t pickeral. It was a blast that weekend anyways.

When Brian & his 2 girls lived on Howey, he would let our friend Sue & I go over to his place to was our cars. One summer day, Sue & I decided to do just that. Wash our cars & engage in some conversation. Everytime Brian went to talk to Sue, she would hold the hose up in the air & turn towards Brian & I to answer. We were asking her a lot of questions. She was not aware of what was happening when she did that. Brian & I were fully aware of what was going on & having so much fun with it, so he took it as far as he could uncontrollably laughing. I’ll tell you what was happening. When Sue would raise the hose up in the air & then turn to answer us, the water was spraying directly into the neighbour’s bedroom window which was open at the time. She finally caught on. First of all, she went behind the house & hid & when she got up the nerve, which took quite awhile, she took off in her car so fast that there was soap still on her car. We laughed so friggin’ long & hard at her that day that we both sore stomachs. The next few time that Sue came over, she wouldn’t get out of her car until she found out that the neighbour wasn’t home. She was so paranoid. Brian said that he would take care of it by saying 2 words only if his neighbour was going to beak off about it. One thing for sure, nobody could do no harm and get away with it to his 2 girls or any of their company that they kept.

Bri was working on Sue’s bucket of bolts, so called car. He was going to change the oil, topped up everything with fluid & changed all 4 spark plugs. Bri got distracted & started workig on something else. A short while later, Sue got in her car thinking the work was all done and drove away. She had to go downtown. The car wasn’t running right, she was thinking, didn’t have much power, I’d better get this rust bucket home. She only got 12 way up the Kingsway hill & had to drive in reverse the rest of way the down. The cops saw this & thought they’d better check it out. When she explained that she didn’t have enough power to get up the hill, & that she just had her car worked on, he suggested that maybe all of the plugs were not put back on. Later the 2 plugs were found on the deck & that same day installed in her car. Sue was on the road again.

Anyone wanna go fishing? I guess so we excitedly replied. It was a beautiful summer day so Bri brought Gramm, me, Rhonda, Kerry, his friends Gary, Sonia & their 2 kids Donovan & Tammy fishing at Paint Lake in Thompson. We were all peacefully & comfortably enjoying the day fishing & then all of a sudden I heard Rhonda hysterically laughing and then Kerry started laughing even louder then Gramm, Gary, Sonia, Donovan, Tammy & of course Brian. I thought I got away with what I just did, but obviously I didn’t. Hardly anything got past this gang. Sooooo what if my fishing line was about 40 feet up stuck on a branch in a tree… Naturally Bri fixed the problem & I was able to relax and fish once again. Now that I was sort of back in the game, the disgusting part came along & that was to bait the hook again, (actually Gramm did it for me the 1st time, ha, ha, ha). Baiting the hook meant that I had to touch that squiggly, wiggly, squirmy, slimy thing commonly called a worm. Yuk, I couldn’t do it so I put my rod down & started to stare out at the water listening & watching everybody having fun. They were all carrying on like this was the greatest day that they ever had & there’s nothing better that they would rather be doing. It probably was. Really rubbing it in cause I was doing nothin. Oh wait, I was doing something. I was sulking. Rhonda caught on to this this & asked me, “not gonna fish anymore Mare, just gonna stare out at the water?” with a chuckle in her voice. Ha, ha, a really funny bunch of comedians I was with. This sucks I was thinking. Then Brian said, “her’s a nice lively, juicy one just for you Mary. Oh gag me with a spoon why don’t you. I’m not touching that. Bri couldn’t watch me suffer any longer so naturally he offered to bait my hook. Do you think I said no… Now this is the good life. All in all, I caught a pike & everybody else caught 1,2 or 13 fish that day. After the fish was cooked, we feasted on it as well as home made french fries. Bri said, mmmmmm was that ever good tasting, especially the TREE PIKE that Mary caught. Well there goes everybody again, laughing crazily. You know I had to even laugh after all, I wasn’t the one who had to fillet the fish. So there…..

When Bri & his 2 girls were living on Howey, he had this tree growing right through his deck out back. He thought this was kind of nice cause when he goes outside to have his coffee, it’ll provide shade on a hot day. I’m already laughing about this one. This worked quite well for awhile anyways. Until one morning a raccoon jumped on his shoulder, he was so startled that he had dropped his coffee. I don’t know if he was more upset cause of the coon jumping on him or he spilling his precious coffee. When this happened, he looked up & thought the coon came off his roof. Didn’t think nothing of it until the next day the same thing happened, even though he stepped outside very cautiously. So he thought about it & figured it out. It was jumping on him from the tree that was growing through his deck. This is not going to happen again he said. So guess what he did, if you know Brian at all then you guessed right. He could not hurt any animal in any way so chop, chop, down came the tree & that was the end of that he said. He was able to enjoy his coffee outside once again.

family’s 2 gether now, time 4 me 2 relax now, luv u xxxxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooooooooomari & rhonda

Angel is now saying twinkle twinkle little star as she is thinking of you papa i look outside up above the sky i see the moon and stars i think of you i am sorry for the problems I’ve caused i was shocked to hear from you when you first came to Timmins. When things went down i seen you that you love me and that you cared the best way you could i accept that and sorry to see you gone with air left god damn it dad love you deeply dad i will always remember you . hey angle thinks of you be always. we love you dad! kerry, angel (a.C.T.)

Hey Bri A year has now gone by I think of you everyday This way I keep your memory alive And it will never, ever fade xxxooo

dad i have been thinking of you ever since i had to see you go it is so damn hard to go to the shed but i had cleaned it out i have the tools you gave me along with my tool box that you gave me for Xmas that was a very good gift i thank you for teaching me the tools i need and can use for the house or yard . angel is getting bigger now dad wish you were here to help me and see how active and playful she is you will always be in our hearts dad miss you lots.

hi dad, two years have passed and i will never forget the day i had to say good-bye. I know you are looking down on us all and there are times throughout the year i would love to pick up the phone to call you even though you were few words you often offered the best advice few words if any but just to let you know we all think of you and love you dearly and would love for you to see us but we know you are looking down on us love you dearly dad. Love you. Rhonda

“TIL WE MEET AGAIN” Even though we must be apart, I’ll know that when I hear the whisper of the wind, it will be you say Hello; when I smell the first fragrant flowers of spring, I will feel your presence, and when I see a butterfly, I will know that you have just passed by. I hope you knew how very much I loved you and how much you will be missed. “Til We meet Again!”

my deepest condolences to his family brian will be missed but never forgotten xoxoxo

My family wishes to extend our deepest sympathies on your loss,and our prayers are with you and your family.

Dear Brian, may you rest in peace, my sincerest condolences to your family & siblings. As young ones years ago, I will keep the memories we shared. From the Federal gang..Sylvia

I was very sorry to hear of your father’s passing. My thoughts and prayers are with you at this time. Such an unexpected shock. Please take care, Jossie (Pauline’s sister in BC).

I’m so sorry for your loss. I remember Brian being a very giving and a joyful man. My deepest condolences to my very dear friend Rhonda and her family. Brian will be always remembered. My prayers for him and the family who loved him deeply. xoxoxoxo

Rhonda, Kerry and Mary-Jean. So very sorry and saddened to hear of Brians passing. We were very shocked to say the least. We have many fond memories of our visits and good times we shared so many years ago in Thompson, Manitoba. Even though we’ve kinda gone our separate ways over the years, we often think of you all. Rhonda and Kerry treasure all of your special memories you have of your dad. May he always live in your hearts and may his soul rest in peace.

Ruth Happy from KL sends here condolences to the family