Brennan Rae James, our beloved mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, and colleague, passed away at home on the morning of September 17, 2025, surrounded by family.

Brennan was born on September 23, 1959, in Newport, Rhode Island, to retired U.S. Navy Captain George Irwin Thompson and Willita "Dede" Reagan. A proud “navy brat,” she and her siblings grew up traveling from one naval base to another as their father rose through the ranks commanding U.S. naval vessels. The family moved from Newport, Rhode Island, to Oakland, California, Guam, and Annapolis, Maryland, before eventually settling in Chula Vista, California.

A lifelong learner and gifted dancer, Brennan attended University of California, Los Angeles and the California School of Arts in pursuit of dance, later earning her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of California, San Diego, and her Master of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley.

After receiving her master’s degree, Brennan returned to San Diego, California, where she met her beloved husband, Fitzgerald. What began as a friendship blossomed into a marriage filled with unconditional love, respect, and adoration, and together they built a joyful family of four.

Brennan lived a life marked by beauty, generosity, kindness, and accomplishment. Her professional legacy left an indelible mark across Southern California — from her early days as a grant writer for an arts and culture organization in San Diego, to a reggae concert producer, to her distinguished tenure as a health care executive in Orange County, culminating as Chief Operating Officer of Optum Care Orange County. Her truest legacy, however, is the love she so freely gave to everyone she encountered — and most especially the unconditional love she poured into her husband and children.

She is survived by her husband, Fitzgerald James; her daughters, Liviya James and Bianca James; her mother, Willita “Dede” Reagan; her father, George Thompson; her siblings, Christine Tillman, Sharon Elise, and Michael Thompson; and her beloved Goldendoodle, Lacey Rose.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to celebrate her memory by dancing in the kitchen with your loved ones, penning a well-appointed list, or making a donation to the City of Hope (https://www.cityofhope.org)

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