About Brandon


There is no way to summarize Brandon or his life. So I won’t attempt to pretend that I can. Where would I even begin? I was lucky enough to have him in my life for 5 years, and he will absolutely be in my heart forever…everywhere I go….he’ll be right there, tucked right in to my heart. A permanent fixture that has forever altered me and the way I view the universe.

Brandon’s most basic personality was of love, empathy, adventure, sensitivity and passion. We had many many discussions on the purpose of life, and to anyone that knew Brandon this is not a surprise. This is a question that we’d both struggled with our entire lives. We’d throw ideas around, and ultimately there is only one that we agreed on. I was embarrassed at first to tell him the only answer that ever made sense to me, and I was surprised to receive a resounding, ‘yes! That actually makes sense when you really think about it.’ The answer was love. Love for each other and others is what got us through our days. So, needless to say, Brandon did not need a lot of material possessions or flashy accessories. At the end of the day he wanted to give and receive love and contribute to this world. In terms of contribution? Well mission accomplished. The number of amazing things I’ve heard from people…some I didn’t even know existed…does not surprise me. Although he was not fond of social media, I thought it necessary to have a place where we could all share those thoughts and memories.

I could write an actual novel on Brandon’s complex personality and soul. As I get through this, I will add to this page. There are so many thoughts racing through my mind that I want to share….one of the first things that made me look at him sideways like ‘is this guy for real?’ is how you could give him a sentence and he could tell you how many letters were in that sentence almost immediately. Not just simple sentences….complex ones with difficult words that I didn’t even always know how to spell. And his multiplication skills? Suffice it to say, his intelligence was intimidating and alluring. It seemed to know no boundaries. On top of that he loved writing songs, playing on his guitar, biking, nature hikes, and philosophizing about almost any subject. There is just too much to say in one summary. So I figured this could be a start.

At the end of the day, I’m honored I got to provide him with his minimum ‘3 hugs per day’ quota. And that ultimately I got to give him the gift of unconditional love. They say that love between partners is conditional, and should be conditional. But for me, he had me. Through ups and downs I just loved him. And likewise, he gave me the gift of unconditional love…and provided me with my hug quota too. I never thought it possible. And then there it was. A love like that is probably once in a lifetime. I’ll take it.

So please write with no boundaries. Share stories. Pictures. Recently he put a blanket over his head, picked up our little fake lantern, hunched down and pretended to be the Hunchback of Norte Dame. I laughed SO hard. It was SO adorable…simple and silly….and in that extremely ‘dorky’ moment I felt so much love for that man. I knew I’d remember that moment forever.

Brandon loved this picture so much…from our Disneyland visit

Support from a friend

So he can people watch on the trails
Our trip to San Antonio
Camping