Brent David Ryan

Birth date: Jan 19, 1978 Death date: Apr 29, 2025

In loving memory of Brent Ryan, 47, who has no f&@$s left to give. After 47 years of raising hell, raising spirits, and raising the bar for what it means to be fully alive, Brent finally hit the respawn point on April 29, 2025, a Read Obituary

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Debbie Bohm-Hill

21w ago

Brent was a student in my kindergarten class (1/2 day) which was my first year teaching; 1984. Brent was a kind children who always laughed at my silly jokes & songs we sang. He was the tallest student in my class. RIP Brent. 🧡

Christine Bouchard

21w ago

My adventures with Brent in world of Warcraft will always be so cherished. Circee will always miss her warrior friend ❤️ rest in peace Wyfi

Jackie Block

22w ago

I want to share two memories - b/c I think both of these stories need to be heard by other humans. The first was in regards to a greeting card...I'm not even sure what the card was for. BUT...for some reason I wrote Brent's name as RHETT - I have no idea why. When I first met Brent and Sandy, for some reason Rhett stuck in my head and even after all the times we talked, had dinner and everything else - I was successful in calling him the correct name. However, in a moment of weakness the name Rhett came out of the darkness and landed in his greeting card. Rhett will forever live on as his "other" name. I haven't lived it down since, and I'm pretty sure Rhett became the name we shouted at Brent when he wasn't paying attention.

Memory two...when Brent (ha! I got the name right!) was diagnosed with ALS, the dark jokes started. We had all discussed going to a ComicCon together as a group months before - and after the diagnosis, the obvious choice was the X-men...and if you don't get that reference before I even say it - you probably weren't as close to Brent as you thought. LOL

My husband warned me to not say anything b/c we were all getting together to kind of get Brent's mind off ALS...and I said it anyway. I think I may have whispered to Sandy first? And as she started laughing (b/c duh, it's hilarious), Brent wanted in on the secret and when I told him we needed to go to ComicCon as the X-men and him as Professor X, his face lit up and I knew in that moment that he was ALL IN. He laughed so hard and was so happy that he could be arguably the coolest character from X-men, and simultaneously be the most fortunate b/c he didn't have to walk and he could ride everywhere. I'll never forget that look on his face - in spite of what could have been a really off-putting joke, he leaned in and took a bad situation and dug humor right out of the center of it. It will remain one of the reasons we love RHETT (haha) so much - for his ability to take something so dark and brooding and lighten it and make it the funniest thing you've ever heard. I think I'll miss that laugh the most. We love you Brent!! When we go to ComicCon, we're bringing Professor X with us :)

Joe Newton

22w ago

In our senior year of high school, Brent and I used to go between Fowlerville and Howell to ride to a third school for a CAD class. He had that big red farm truck he drove and I was following him in my first purchased car (it was an old Cadillac which is why he thought this was so damn hilarious). On the drive back from Howell to Fowlerville after a few days of rain, we got to the last mile or so before the high school which was a dirt road. He was just ahead of me and as soon as he hit the dirt, he floored the engine of his truck that just launched a wave of mud up the front of my car to the windshield. I didn't have any washer fluid left so I had to drive the last mile with my head out the window like Ace Ventura. He was cackling the whole way back to the school and after I parked and yelled at him. It was great.

Brent was the best of us, will be missed by all of us.

Joe Newton

22w ago

Joe Newton

22w ago

I have a couple of his more mischievous side.

First, in high school we had a CAD class that required us to drive between Howell and Fowlerville to catch a bus to a third school. One time after class, we were driving back to Fowlerville, him and that big red farm truck and me in my first car (it was an old Cadillac which is why he thought this was hilarious). It had been raining all week and the last road before the school was a dirt road. He was in front of me and when he hit that dirt road, he just gunned the engine and launched a wall of mud all over the front of my car and up the windshield. I was out of wiper fluid so I had to roll down the window and drive with my head out like Ace Ventura the last mile to the school. He was cackling the whole last mile.

The second one was a trip to Okemos to see the new movie Jackie Brown. It was me, Walter and Bryce who rode with him. We'd stopped at a Subway for food on the way and when we got out, Walt was the last one to the car. As soon as he grabbed the handle, Brent gassed the car forward a few feet. He did this two more times and then just tore out of the parking lot, leaving Walt standing there. We circled back around at the next intersection but by the time we got back to the parking log, Walter had walked off. We made three or four passes and didn't see him (apparently he saw us and thought we were taunting). We just went to the theater to get tickets and wait for him inside. About 10 minutes later he came walking down the theater aisle up to Brent and just smacked him asking why we left him. We said we'd gone back and he'd walked off. The people behind us thought the whole thing was hilarious.

He was the best of us and will be sorely missed by all of us.

Joe Newton

22w ago

I have two. First, In our senior year of high school we both took a drafting class that required us to drive between Howell and Fowlerville to ride a bus to a third school for the class. We'd ride back to Howell and had to drive from there back to Fowlerville for the rest of our day. He was driving that rusty old red farm pickup with no tailgate and I was behind him driving my first car which was an old Cadillac. It had been raining all week and when we hit the dirt road leading to the school from the back way, he floored his truck and launched mud all over my windshield. I had to wiper fluid so I had to drive the last two miles with my head out the drivers window like Ace Ventura. Thanks for that one man.

Second, we (there was several of the usual suspects in our friend group) had all ridden with him o Okemos to see the new Jackie Brown movie. We stopped at a subway on the way to grab food and all got back to the car, Walt had stepped back to use the restroom. When he came out he'd reach for the door of Brent's car and Brent would gas it a little and move out of the way. After two of three times, he just gunned it out of the parking lot and down the street to the next intersection. He turned around and went back and Walt was gone. We ran up and down the road a few times and couldn't find him. We just went to the theater and got our tickets. A few minutes before the movie started, he came in the theater, walked up behind Brent and slapped him in the back of the head and yelled "why the hell did you leave me, ass?" We said we went back and looked and he was gone. The people behind us were laughing hysterically. It was great.

Anonymous

22w ago

Planted a Memorial Tree in honor of Brent.

A vibrant green tree flourishes in a sunny area, showcasing thick leaves and a sturdy trunk.

Plant a tree

Dean Mazzara

22w ago

It may seem trivial to some, but Brent always taught me to say screw what other people think about the vid games I like. If I like em play em. F&$# everyone else's opinion about it. Really connected with him through games, jokes and both of us talking in a way that would make even our family blush. Gonna miss getting carried in Diablo and carrying him in COD. He was one of my favorite people to play with, nothing but laughs the whole time.

Jackie Block

22w ago

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