Mr. Brennan Boyd

On November 19, 2023, Brennan Jay Boyd, BJ to those who knew him well, passed suddenly, unexpectedly, but peacefully at the young age of 31. Those who loved him knew he had endured much struggle and battled many demons in his short time on Earth and that he was taken from us too soon. BJ was born to Sharon Hill and Jermaine Boyd at Milwaukee County General Hospital on January 30, 1992, and became the joy of their lives,giving them purpose and his special kind of love. BJ was a beautiful, happy baby and a bright young boy. He loved Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars and trucks. He had nearly 200 at one point and spent hours staging races on his tracks and “fixing them up”. In his youth he spent afternoons and weekends riding his bike, playing Madden football, Forza racing, and “The Show” baseball video games, and being the gentle “big brother” to his brothers and sister. Brennan began his education at Harambe Community School, then Sandy Springs Elementary in Atlanta, GA. When family moved back to Milwaukee, he attended Zablocki Middle School for 7th and 8th grade, playing saxophone in the band and then Milwaukee Technical High School as a teen. He excelled academically, earning Honor Roll certificates each year and being inducted into the National Honor Society as a Senior in 2010. He was an athlete who played his heart out on the baseball field as a catcher and pitcher for Tech High School, creating lifelong friendships with his fellow teammates and winning the City Conference championship in 2009 and 2010. He spent a year at UW-Stevens Point, then returned home to help care for his ailing grandmother Linda. Music was one of his many interests. He would often sing along with as much passion as the artists he loved. He wrote poetry and stories expressing his deepest thoughts and views of the world he lived in. He made friends with ease. With his open and easygoing manner, infectious and beautiful smile and good heart, he made impressions everywhere he went. BJ loved food and cooking, trying out new recipes and making up his own concoctions that suited his tastes. He was curious, inquisitive and a thinker. He was a people-person who could hang with the adults and chat about many intense or abstract topics with ease, then go off and say “Ok, I’m gonna go do kid stuff now”, and be goofy, laughing out loud…having a good time just being a kid. As an adult, BJ found his way to Appleton where he met and fell for former UW Steven’s Point friend Lydia Tyler and began his own family. BJ was an excited, attentive father who doted on his two daughters, forming a loving, lasting bond with both that will stay with them through this difficult time. BJ was loved fiercely; he will remain the brightest light in his parents’ lives. He left us too young. His promising life was unfulfilled and cut short, but we remember and cherish his potential and the impact he left on all of us. As he leaves this world, Brennan is survived by his daughters, RaeLynn Anne and Camryn Gail; his parents Sharon Garrison (Joseph) and Jermaine Boyd (Venturia). He leaves behind his grandmother Betty Harris, siblings Shanteria, Ke’erica, Sam, Manny, Jayvon, Reece, Joseph Jr., and Selah; aunt Jamila, uncles Terry, Dejuan, Lester and Dwight Jr.; niece Saliyah and nephews Julian and Quentin; and a host of loving cousins and many other family members and dear friends who will remember him in love. Brennan was preceded in death by his great-grand parents Dorothy Ramsey, Clarence Garland, Webster Harris, Red Hill, Ruth Coleman; grandparents Linda Hill, Sherman Hill and Beverly Boyd-Thomas and Dwight Turner; great-aunt Carol Garland and great-uncles Bradley Harris and Mitchell Boyd. “Miss me a little, but not for long, And not with your head bowed low Remember the love that we once shared, Miss me but let me go” …

Mr. Brennan Boyd

January 30, 1992 - November 19, 2023