I am extremely sad to announce that my brother Brendon passed away yesterday after a whirlwind three week battle w/ cancer. The quickness and severity of the spread of the disease was almost beyond belief, but he is now out of pain and in a better place. His longtime partner and friend Jonnie Channell and his step-daughter Eden were at his bedside and our hearts and thanks go out to the staff of the New Mexico University Hospital ICU.
Brendon was the most important person in my life. We were adopted together by the O'Brien family in September 1962 when we are 4 and 5 years old. Sadly, we left our 3-year-old brother Mitchell behind at the foster home. The two of us spent the next 50 + years pursuing our passions.
Brendon was the first in the family to get a college degree (in Theater). He was a true artist, visionary and innovator. Brendon was the first to build a straw bale house (and then an Earthship tire-house) in Crestone, Colorado, which is now know as the "alternative building capital of America." Brendon pioneered many of the stawbale building techniques in wide use today. He was a master plasterer who produced some of the most beautiful finishes ever seen as a result of his innovations w/ natural plasters and modern tools and natural colors. When he lived in Mexico, he was asked by the Quiche Maya (among the world's finest plasterers) to train them in his technique. When he was 28, he attended a Masonic Lodge open house in the oldest lodge in New England, where he shocked the old dudes with the width and breathe of his esoteric knowledge. He was rushed through the degrees and was made chaplain (holder of the secrets) of Zetland lodge. One of his true passions was the study of the Western Esoteric Tradition. He was a walking storehouse of knowledge, but humble and extremely low-key concerning this knowledge.
Brendon was my chief sounding board. I spent years developing theories, ideas and concepts for my investigation and research pursuits, and he would gleefully, with great humor, point out the holes/flaws in my thinking and then propose out-of-the-box ideas that would then re-jump-start my thinking. We shared countless amazing experiences together and I will always cherish the many years we were the best of friends and closest of brothers.
In 2001, amazingly, we were re-united w/ our birth family. The 4-day weekend we spent together with my other two brother's Mitch and Sean and our mother was one of the most surreal and rewarding experiences of my life. We lost our mother two weeks later on Christmas Day, and Mitch from a heart-attack in 2011.
I wanted to write this short summary to share with you all this amazing man's life. He was the most selfless and giving person imaginable and his passing will leave a gaping hole in the heart's of those who knew him and called him friend. Jonnie's son Van sent a beautiful Huichol-style painting he had made for Brendon. His word's on the back speak volumes about the man: Dear Brendon, you will always be a huge part of the person I have become, for which I am grateful!. I will take the lessons you taught me about life and pass them onto others…
Thank you all for your prayers and best wishes. Rest assured that we all have an amazing powerhouse kicking ass and taking names on the other side. Brendon was a fearless soul and a true Magickal warrior. Even if you didn't know him, you will find this out when it is your time to transition!