![Brendan Bernard Francis McKay]()
Brendan Bernard Francis McKay
Brendan Bernard Francis McKay, 30, passed away Monday, Sept. 8, 2014, in Rome, Italy, following a tragic accident.
An AmeriCorps volunteer, artist, multi-instrumentalist, snowboarder, world traveler, counselor, historian, Ph.D. candidate, and Seanchaí in the Irish storytelling tradition, Brendan was born June 30, 1984 in Summit, N.J., the second of Bernard and Mary McKay’s four children. He grew up in Alexandria and McLean, Va., where he graduated from McLean High School in 2002.
Brendan began undergraduate studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, later attended Western Connecticut State University and John Cabot University in Rome, and in 2012 graduated magna *** laude from Rhode Island College with a bachelor’s in history.
Most recently, Brendan completed his Master’s degree in International Relations at St. John’s University in Rome, Italy in June 2014.
Throughout his teens and early twenties, Brendan struggled with addiction issues. With the support of loved ones, he participated in therapeutic and rehabilitation programs in Utah, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Kansas. In 2008, Brendan emerged from this period secure in his recovery, and with a renewed passion for education, adventure, and experience which would come to define the rest of his life.
From 2008-2010, Brendan served with AmeriCorps as a volunteer with Big Brothers, Big Sisters in Worland, Wyoming. Within a matter of months he was promoted to vice president of development, going on to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars on behalf of at-risk youth, before leaving to accept a position as an AmeriCorps program manager in Rhode Island. Before leaving Wyoming he was urged by locals in Worland to stay and run for mayor. He was flattered and seriously considered it.
Brendan is remembered fondly by his loved ones in the U.S. and around the world for his legendary sense of humor, a classic Irish storyteller vividly sharing his many adventures. He ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. He rode a hot air balloon through the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. He skied across the Swiss-French border in the Alps, not entirely on purpose. Completing an Asian journey that included Malaysia, Cambodia, and Nepal, he returned to Rome over the Himalayas and Mt. Everest. He crisscrossed the United States by car, camped in the badlands of North Dakota, and lived on a mountain in Southern California. During academic travel to North Korea he became one of only a small number of Americans to have seen the demilitarized zone from the north side.
Brendan was also intellectually brilliant. He was an enthusiastic reader, with particular interest in philosophy, history, physics, and comparative religion. His collection of unusual tattoos included the Fibonacci sequence on his arm. His creativity and humor led to unique inventions; on one occasion, Brendan created what he called a “Scrabbanjelo”, a playable banjo which he constructed from the wooden box of a Scrabble set — a game at which he was renowned as unbeatable.
At the time of his passing, he was looking forward to his doctoral work at King’s College in London. His studies were to focus on the little-told story of the town of Fiumi on the Italy-Croatia border, which formed its own independent state in World War I in defiance of the warring countries around it.
Brendan’s 6’ 6” physical presence was the outer manifestation of an unusually humble, sensitive, self-deprecating person, whose generosity, kindness, and compassion for friends and family alike will never be forgotten. His beloved dog, Anastasia, is the physical embodiment of that kindness. Brendan had encountered a group of drug dealers about to shoot a young puppy for which they had no use. He persuaded them to let him adopt her in exchange for what little money he had in his pocket, a meager five dollars. For more than a decade, Anastasia has been a cherished member of the McKay family, displaying a level of emotional intelligence that is extraordinary to find in an animal.
Brendan was not immune to accidents, and indeed had scars going back to toddlerhood. But he always stood up, brushed himself off, and went at life again, charging boldly at every experience the world could offer. His enthusiasm for adventure inspired all who knew him.
Brendan is survived by his parents, Bernard and Mary, his two brothers, Patrick and Conor, and his sister, Rosemary. He will be missed. A memorial service and Mass of Christian Burial were held at Our Lady of Mercy Chapel at Salve Regina University in Newport, on Saturday, Sept. 20. A reception followed at Ochre Court on the University campus. The family suggests, as an alternative to flowers, that contributions could be made to:
The Brendan McKay Memorial Scholarship Fund
Salve Regina University
Ochre Point
Newport, Rhode Island 20840 USA.