Archive for februari, 2012

Today is the wake and tomorrow is the funeral for a lady you almost certainly don’t know personally. She wasn’t a big star. She wasn’t famous. She did have quite a few friends and I’m grateful to have been one of them.

Beverly Joy Brennan and I worked together at a radio station in the Chicago suburbs from 1980 to 1982. That’s when our friendship began. It continued in the next several years when she was working at a boutique advertising agency in Chicago. She hired me several times for commercial campaigns, giving me my first professional commercial sessions.

In the years that followed, after I’d moved away from Chicago, we corresponded, writing letters to one another until the Internet grew. Then emails. A phone call now and then. Sometimes when I was in Chicago or she was in whatever city I was living in at the time we would get together for an in-person visit. I didn’t know it at the time, but the final one of those was last summer.

Bev was 3 years younger than me. It’s quite startling when someone younger than you dies. More significant of course, it’s really startling when someone you’ve known for such a long time dies.

She did have quite a few friends. There were also those not so fond of her, because Bev was a bright, articulate woman who wasn’t afraid to say what she thought. Not everyone agreed with her. But, her faith, her politics, her home, her family and her friends were all deeply held values.

One of my fondest memories was when my wife Cinda and I sang at her wedding. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful ceremony. I’m glad we were able to be a part of it.

Bev also had one of the best marketing minds I’ve known. I’m going to miss being able to call or email to ask for her thoughts and insights.

Rest in peace, dear Beverly. I pray for the peace that passes understanding to cover your family in the days ahead.