The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph courtesy of the Brickley family

Brian Brickley, 1979-1998.

Family remembers Brian Brickley's adventurous life

Willow Glen youth was walking at age 7 months, ran away from home at age 3

By Cecily Barnes

On a quiet street at the edge of Willow Glen, a tightly woven wreath of roses adorns the front porch of a modest home. Stretched across its middle, a shiny ribbon reads, "We love you, Brian."

On Aug. 27, 19-year-old Brian Brickley jumped from the top of an elementary school building just blocks from his home, tragically ending his life. A graduate of Bellarmine College Preparatory, he was one week from starting his second year at San Jose State University and on the threshold of his adult life.

"He could have blossomed," his dad, Gerald Brickley, says, shaking his head sadly. A barrage of flowers and condolences fill tabletops and shelves at the Brickley residence, where Brian's dad and two sisters, Shannon, 22, and Meghan, 16, are dealing with their loss. On Sept. 1, they were joined by more than 2,000 people for a memorial service at St. Christopher's Church, where Brian had spent his first eight years of school. The night before, nearly 500 people attended Brian's rosary, held at the Lima Family Mortuary in Willow Glen.

Brian Gerald Brickley was born on Jan. 14, 1979, at Alexian Brothers Hospital in San Jose. At 6 months, Brian crawled to second-place victory in the Santa Clara County Fair's Diaper Derby, wearing a hand-sewn diaper wrap his mother made, which read "Bri-Boy." One month later, he was up and walking.

At age 3, Brian's adventurous spirit led him from home in nothing but his Underoos while his mother napped. "When we realized he was gone, we took bikes, and his mom went one way and I went the other," Gerald Brickley remembers. "When I found him, he was standing there in his Underoos saying, 'I runned away from home, I runned away.' "

Brian's spirit continued to grow. Gerald Brickley smiles, remembering an incident when Brian was in first grade at St. Christopher's. "His teacher heard this commotion up the hall, so she left the classroom to go see what it was. The principal was coming from the other direction to check the commotion, too. It was coming from the little boy's room," Brickley laughs. "When they went in, there was Brian doing his duty, singing 'Born in the USA' at the top of his lungs."

In high school, Brian convinced the members of the varsity volleyball team to dye their hair blue as a symbol of team unity. Before a challenging game with Los Gatos High School, he shaved his hair down to nothing but a topknot.

Just six months ago, Brian's mother, Suzi, died after a long battle with breast cancer. The two had been comrades and confidantes.

"When Brian was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder in high school, she was always working with him to try and figure out what was wrong and what would work," his sister Shannon says. "They were very close."

In his suicide note, Brian wrote that he missed his mother and wished to be with her. Brian is survived by his father, Gerald Brickley, older sister Shannon Brickley and younger sister Meghan Brickley.

Donations to the Brian Brickley scholarship fund at Bellarmine College Preparatory can be sent to 850 Elm St., San Jose, 95126.

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