A long time ago, in a city far far away…

Brad Martin was born October 9, 1979 in Westland Michigan.  He was the only child to David and Dale and the trio moved to St. Louis MO when Brad was 3.  Growing up in St. Louis was a point of pride for Brad and he would fondly recall the freedom he had to play and be on his own a lot during the school year and visit his dad in the summers.  Some of his fondest memories were the trips to Disney World, the small local pettings zoos, and Imo’s pizza.  On one very special vacation when he was about 6 he got to fly to LA to see where his dad worked, go to Disneyland, Universal Studios Hollywood, an Angels baseball game and see the ocean for the very first time at Manhattan Beach.  It was an incredibly special trip that created some of the fondest memories for the father-son duo.  As a teenager Brad moved with Dale to Michigan and settled in Northville.  For a time he lived with his Aunt Susan and cousins Lindsey and Jill while attending Northville High School.  It was there that he met some of his best and lifelong friends; Mark, “Durt”, and “Tobey”.  Brad had endless stories of their adventures and shenanigans.  

Along with Lindsey and Jill, Brad had a large extended family of cousins, aunts, uncles and beyond.  Adam, Chrissy, Brenna, and Jake can be seen in many of his childhood photos along with his aunts Susan and Maureen, and his grandparents “Papa Dave” and “Grandma Dilly”.  He had lots of great-aunts/uncles and second cousins including Mary DeCapo and Butch Koloski, and Tom Wozniak.  And that was just on his mom’s side!  His dad, Dave, came from an even bigger family, being one of 8 children and Brad is fondly remembered by Gary Martin, Marlene Denison, Midge McHale and Glenn Martin.  Brad’s family got even bigger with the inclusion of his loving Stepmom Susan and his wonderful Stepdad Tim. 

Anyone who knew Brad always pictured him with a cat or two.  He loved a series of cats throughout his life including P.K. (Pretty Kitty), Stinky (aka Onyx), Rush (aka August Rush) and Chubbs (aka Twinkle Toes).  He especially loved all black cats and tuxedo cats, knowing that they were usually the last to be adopted from shelters and more likely to be abandoned.  He was the first to jump at adopting a cat that others may have overlooked.  

His biggest hobby was cooking.  He loved every form of it and was always willing to experiment with new foods, cooking techniques and recipes.  He really loved to grill and slow smoke BBQ meats.  His brisket was one of his most delicious creations.  He also loved stovetop and oven recipes though and cycled through a calendar of certain dishes at certain times of the year:  Chicken and dumpling soup in the fall, chili in the winter, grilled beef tri-tip and cedar plank grilled salmon in the spring, and smoked brisket in the summer.  He was always bringing in extra portions of his cooking to his co-workers or making special meals for his friends when they visited.  You can find a bunch of his recipes on this site and try them for yourself!  

Brad was generally a homebody and loved video games, movies, and binge-able shows.   He would usually have one or two shows in common with each of his friends and his dad and would have weekly updates with each about the episodes and plot twists.  He also loved reading and got a number of his friends and cousins into Stephen King books, something he actually got from his mom.  When he was younger he loved going to concerts and had an extensive collection from each one he attended.  He loved the band Phish and went through a big Beatles phase in his young adult years.  As he got older the one thing he would leave the house for though was the annual Michigan Renaissance Festival, or Ren Fest.  For years he was there opening day without fail.  It didn’t hurt that opening day was typically pet weekend featuring tons of adoptable dogs and dogs coming with their parents, often in adorable pet costumes.  

Brad worked in the TPA industry for 15 years in the IT field.  He took great pride in his excellent relationship with many local and out of state unions that he served.  He was often a client-favorite whenever IT was needed and he specialized in finding and resolving really tricky problems whether that was in the data, in the programming code, or in the communication between departments or clients.  He loved sinking his teeth into something that was a pain point for people, find the solution and make sure people didn’t have to deal with it again if at all possible.  He was also well loved at the company, knowing everyone from the receptionists to the CEO and the mail clerks to the VPs.  He felt that both clients and coworkers were people first, and labels second and he tried to treat everyone with respect and empathy.  He was routinely checking in on how others were doing even if he was having a rough day too.  His fellow IT teammates often felt more like family than colleagues and he worked with the same wonderful crew for years, some for more than a decade!  Dave B, Mark W, Chris C, Mark Z, Sienna T, and Cameron P all considered Brad to be more than just a co-worker, but also a good friend who always had a ready ear for listening and a shoulder to lean on.  Outside of his direct teammates he had a host of people he worked with that were very important to him.  Linda O, MaryBeth L, Bonnie M, Rachel & Anthony G, Phil E, Nicole S, Art H, Anil M, Chris L, Chris Cr, Joe K, Jason T, and so many others were impactful on his life and he held them in a special place.  He also had a deep affection and appreciation for George Buhalis for his love and care during the difficult period of Dale’s passing.  

Brad was a bright spot in many peoples’ lives, he was deeply loved, and he will be missed.