BRENNAN, RAYMOND GUEST
1928 - 2016
It is with heavy hearts that the family of Raymond Guest Brennan announces his death on Wednesday, January 20, 2016, at his lifelong home in South Johnville, New Brunswick.
Born on June 19, 1928, Raymond is survived by his wife of 55 years Ann (Sharkey) Brennan; children Rayanne, Moncton, NB, Christopher (Melissa Clark-Brennan), South Johnville, NB; Pamela, Pictou, NS, Patricia, Saint John, NB, Neil (Marje Aksli), Ottawa, On, Mark (Josee Bellefleur-Brennan), Woodstock, NB; grandchildren Cassidy, Mikayla, Will, Ryker, Riley, Zane, Nicholas, Isabelle, Jaan Kristjan, Mark Joosep and Avery; great-grandchildren Jade and Hudson; and his brother Neil, Vernon, BC.
He is predeceased by his parents Thomas and Agnes (Guest); sisters Joan Kilfoil and Germaine Eisert; brothers Eugene, William, Dr. Thomas, Clement and nephews Stephen and Allison.
Raymond was a recipient of the Paul Harris Fellowship Award… Rotary Club’s highest honour - for “service above self” and received the Enterprise Carleton Region’s Business Achiever Award in appreciation of his many contributions to the economic and social fabric of western New Brunswick.
His entrepreneurial spirit was instilled while he was a young boy growing up on his family’s seed potato farm with his father and two brothers for 25 years; then farmed independently for an additional 20 years.
Raymond began building potato houses for other farmers, which led to the establishment of his general contracting business in 1965. Eleven years later, Brennan Contractors & Building Supplies was incorporated to provide both contracting services and building materials to the residential and commercial construction trade.
Raymond drew on his hard work ethic, natural business acumen and sweat equity to create a successful family-run operation that today includes two Home Hardware stores in Florenceville-Bristol and Woodstock, a construction company and property development firm.
Well-known for his generous support of worthy charities and not-for-profit organizations, Raymond demonstrated a similar level of commitment to his community. He became a volunteer firefighter at the age of 16 and was a key player in the formation of the Bath Regional Fire Department.
He also helped lay the foundation for the River View Manor and was a founding member of the Carleton Regional Economic Development Commission.
A Third Degree Knight with the Knights of Columbus, he was a life a member of the Elks Club, an honorary member of the Florenceville Rotary Club and a life member of the Florenceville Kinsmen Club. He served on the boards of the Carleton Memorial Hospital and the Bath Chamber of Commerce. He was chairman of the Bath Regional Fire Department, president of the Florenceville Club, chairman of the River View Manor, president of the Florenceville Rotary Club and chairman of the Carleton Region Economic Development Commission.
An avid curler, one of his proudest achievements was winning the New Brunswick Senior Men’s Curling Championship as skip of a Florenceville foursome that included Carl Ash, Tim Bliss and Clayton Buckingham. He represented his home club and the province at the Canadian Senior Curling Championship in Yorkton, Saskatchewan in 1985. He demonstrated a similar passion and natural ability for golf, which he took up after he gave up farming when he was 65.
Visitation for Raymond will be held at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bath on Friday, January 22, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. The funeral mass will be celebrated on Saturday, January 23, at 11:00 am at St. John the Evangelist Church in Johnville. Raymond’s nephew, Rev. Bill Brennan, will be the celebrant.
Donations in Raymond’s memory can be made to the River View Manor Fund, the Martin Kilfoil Memorial Fund, the Bath School Early Morning Breakfast Program, or to the charity of the donor’s choice.
Interment will be held in the spring in the Johnville Cemetery.
Funeral arrangements are by L.R. Giberson Funeral Directors in Florenceville-Bristol. www.gibersonfuneraldirectors.ca (506) 392-1115