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Mental Health America Bell of Hope Memorial |
In Loving Memory of Brent,
I know you struggled for many years, I understood your pain. You
are now in the arms of the angels but I will never forget you. You
were a joy to be with and you were a wonderful, loving nephew. I
will miss your art work, you were so gifted. You had a wonderful
sense of humor and I am sorry it did not carry you through these
difficult times. We all love you very much and will be with us in
spirit, always. Dear
Brent, Love I spoke at my brother Brent's funeral, and I shared a story about him that made people laugh but also helped people remember the kind of person he was and think about what his life meant. I want to share that with you now... One
time I was driving through San Francisco with Brent and we stopped
at a light where a guy was panhandling. I didn't really pay attention
because when you have seen so much of that you kind of tune it out.
But Brent rolled down his window and handed the guy a five dollar
bill. I asked Brent, "What are you doing? You have problems
of your own and need to think about focusing on getting your own
life back on track." The moral of the story is that Brent didn't have much, but he loved to feel like he was helping people and making the world a better place. What we can all learn from this is that we all have opportunities in our lives to make investments: in ourselves, in the people we care about, and even people we've never met. It is important to use those opportunities to make a difference, however and whenever we can. Little things do make a difference in people's lives, and we can never be sure how much or how little that difference will be. All we can do is make sure that we don't let those opportunities pass us by without putting in some effort to make some difference. We CAN make the world a better place, one small "investment" at a time. I
love you Brent, and I miss you so much it hurts, but I will never
forget you. Thanks for all your hard work getting through each day
for as long as you could, and now I'm glad you get your chance to
rest. You have earned it. I wish I could hug you one more time, but
I guess that is God's job now. Brent!
Well Sutter Friend, I hope you now that I'm and many others will
and do miss you! Your smile, art work, and your laugh! Just remember
one thing.... your in a safe place! I
feel honored to have known you through the years. Although we didn’t
spend a lot of time together I will remember your art, your appreciation
of music, and the time and attention you shared with Brendan. I will
also remember your courage as the years passed and you struggled
to find your path. Through your experiences I learned a lot about
the challenges of mental health issues for individuals and families.
I am thankful for that awareness and I feel that I am a more empathetic
person for that knowledge. Your are loved by your family and I hope
and pray that you are now enjoying the peace that you deserve. Brent,
my friend, The words haven't been created yet which could explain
what I am feeling right now. There is a whirlwind of emotions ripping
through me so fast that I can't even focus on one long enough to
try and make sense of what has happened. I can not believe that one
of my best friends is gone. I know that you were happy amongst friends
and you have a lot of them. I hope that where you are now that you
have found some people to chill with until we can pick up where we
left off. Thank you Brent for all the good memories. I miss you,
we all miss you, and you will never be forgotten. Your friend always,
Mike Wild I'm writing this to represent for my good friend Brent. I'm deeply saddened to hear of the loss and feel overwhelmed to share some thoughts and stories of what a great person Brent was. I met Brent in High School, we were team mates on the wrestling team. Although Brent was a small guy, he had the heart of a lion. I often watched Brent toss unsuspecting opponents around the mat, to this day I would still pass on the chance to go up against him. Off the mat Brent was polite and respectfull, he was a passionate person with a great sense of humor and was very talented. We became good friends and spent many years hanging out together. He was the first person I ever met who taught me it was cool to be polite. In conversations with Brent I was always impressed by his interest and excitement to hear what I had to say and was always there to cheer people up. It's those traits I take with me everyday to share with the world. Brent will never go forgotten. His name will continue to be shared in the many stories of what has made me into the person I am today. I feel truly blessed to have had the oppertunity of knowing Brent. Brent you will be greatly missed! This
is Brent's Mom, I'm not ready to say very much. Tomorrow November
13th, at the Calvary Temple on Colusa Highway is Brent's memorial
and any friend is welcome. The services start at 4pm. I am writing
today to thank each of you for the beautiful words and how much itmeans
to Brent and his family and friends. Thank you, Love Rocky I
am so happy to see remembrances of you from your friends and family.
You are truly loved and missed. I am so sad you did not reach out
to us. We were and are here for you. I set up this memorial when
I recieved the news. Our times together were so special. One day
I was driving you to the skate park and the music you chose to listen
to was "The Wallflowers". "One Headlight" will
always remind me of you and now I feel the irony of the song. I listen
to "Green Day", I know you liked them too. "Boulevard
of Broken Dreams" always made me cry but now it is your song
too. Music is a universal language and we both loved to listen to
it. I remember sitting with you in your room and you played your
guitars for me. I will miss being called "Aunt Candy".
I cry when I listen to "Beautiful Boy" by John Lennon and "Tears
in Heaven" by Eric Clapton. I dedicate these songs to you, Beautiful
Brent. We're
pulling ourselves together for your memorial service tomorrow.....I
know you will feel the love and prayers from your friends and family.
I am working to remember the wonderful times and love and use that
to encourage myself and others that work in mental health to keep
up the battle against depression and mental illness. We can and do
make a difference....a loss like this is difficult for me. I will
miss you here as will your mom, step-dad, brothers and sister, grandparents,
aunt and all your friends and family.We wish you God speed on your
journey to the light. We are sad to lose you but love you and hold
you in our hearts as we go on in this wordly endeavor....you have
touched us again with your spirit, passion and courage. Hello
Brent. I cannot believe you are gone. I remember you coming by just
to say hi and wish me a good day. I remember giving you words of
encouragement and trying to make you see that there is hope. I went
to your memorial service yesterday, you are a wonderful artist..absolutely
wonderful and you have family and friends that love you so very much.
I wish you could have found peace on earth, I know you struggled
so much to find your place. I hope you are at peace now. You will
be missed. You had a smile that could light up a room. Take Care.
R.I.P. Hey
kiddo, I've been missing your smile.. when you would stop by to tell
us you were doing all right and looking forward to the next step
of your life. I am so sorry you couldn't find the peace and happiness
you wanted so badly here in this world. I hope you've found it now.
You will be missed! I wish you could have realized how many people
truely cared for you. There were many at your memorial yesterday.
I saw pictures of you when you were a little kiddo.. you were so
cute! You were such a good artist too..I didn't know that about you..
Just know Brent, that I will miss your visits down here.. You
have occupied my thoughts many days in the last month .You were a
charmer,comedian,and a peacemaker.It was an honor to have known you
for the short time that we did. Thank you for calling me "beautiful" when
I didn't feel beautiful. Thank you for always standing beside when
you thought I was threatened. You shouldn't have but you did. Thank
you for laughing with us so many times .You were a candle in a dark
room.You'll remain in my heart always Brent... I
was with you Brent in your final days, you made me laugh, smile,
feel, and you inspired me to be a better person and love everyone,
like you did. Thank You for touching my life , I'll see u on the
other
side my Brotha. I
am so sorry that you experienced such sadness and discouragement
in your young life. I remember you early on as a very polite 10 year-old,
such a handsome little guy with very blond hair, bangs cut straight
across, a sweet smile, and a lot of interesting things on your mind
that you liked to share. You seemed to be quite self-sufficient and
independent, mature beyond your years. So bright, confident, determined,
and such a talented artist. It was so amazing to see your creations.
Jason and Aaron looked up to you and wanted to be able to draw like
you. Thank you for spending time with them and inspiring them with
your work. I am so sorry that you became inflicted with such a debilitating
disease. It must have been awful having to take medication that made
you feel not yourself. I’m very sorry for your suffering. I
only hope that you are now experiencing the peace and happiness that
you deserved and craved so dearly. This
is Brent's Mom, and I am writing to thank Leslie, Lyn, Kathy, and
Pat for their donations in my son's honor to Mental Health of
America and also to thank them for all the love and care they have
shared with Brent and me through the years. Just know I love you
all very much and you will always be in my heart. To those of you
who
have written to Brent and me know that your words and stories about
being with Brent have brought me great comfort. Yesterday was a very
sad day for me as it has been two months since I lost Brent. We loved
each other so much and Brent was a loving and caring son who made
jokes and made me laugh at myself when I was struggling. I miss the
happiness he brought to my life and all the creativity he had but
I did not.I hope that the donations help others who suffer the tragedy
of mental illness. Also thank you to Jenn, too. I look at Orion's belt, our favorite constellation, and I know you are there! I miss you so much and wish I could have done more for you, please help me when I join you in the after life. Brent, please be there! All of us miss you so much and have tried to contribute to those who still suffer. I hope you have helped them. A day does not go by that I do not wish you were here and I will keep this "web-site" alive! Hey Brent, its a year to the day that you passed away. I think of you often. Its great looking back at your memorial page here and seeing all the wonderful words from folks who love you. By now you've probably opened an art/skateboard/music museum in heaven. I'm sure its the IN place to be. Jenn and I miss you but know you are having fun and creating havoc up there. Keep at it! Love Les
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