Brian Patrick Mersereau

July 12, 1983 – December 16, 2023

Our beloved Brian was born on a sunny day in Rockville Center, Maryland on July 12, 1983. He passed in his sleep on December 16, 2023. He was a good man, son, and brother loved and admired by family and friends.

The wonderful bright smile, thoughtfulness, compassion, love, care, generosity, and adventurous spirit Brian became known for as an adult was the same Brian we knew and loved as a child and through his growing up years.

Brian’s love of adventure, curiosity, and craftsmanship began at a very young age. We should have known he would become a carpenter when the first word he uttered was “mammer,” referring to the hammer his Dad was using to build some bookshelves in our home in Maryland. He built tree houses, zip lines, skateboard ramps, and climbing walls while still in elementary school, insisting that his versions of harnesses and helmets would keep him and his friends safe. He was the kid with the biggest collection of Tonka trucks and construction equipment. His Cub Scout pinewood derby cars may not always have been the fastest, but they always had the best paint job and accessories. While in junior high, he was a member of a climbing gym and was quite the competitive climber - both indoors and out. Going on hikes with Brian always had him wandering off the trail to scale every boulder or rock pile. Family members will long laugh about eight year-old silver spray paint-coated Brian when he was experimenting with a hammer and nail to see what would happen when puncturing a can.

Brian’s love of the water started very early. He was swimming at the Upper Montgomery County YMCA in water baby classes before he could walk and he wanted to sit in the lifeguard chair when he was just in kindergarten. He could captain a 15’ two-sailed sailboat on the Merrimack River in Lawrence, Massachusetts when he was only 10 years old. As a member of the first group of students in the program, Brian earned an Adventure Sports Management degree from Adirondack Community College in New York in 2009. In the following years, he was a Waterfront Director; Swim and Lifeguard instructor; CPR and First Aid Instructor, and Wilderness First Responder on Lake George in Bolton Landing, New York. He also worked several summers in various positions at Silver Bay YMCA of the Adirondacks.

He also started a career as a Snowboard Instructor at Gore Mountain where he became an AASI Level 2 Certified and accomplished snowboard instructor from 2008 - 2012. He was honored as the Rookie Instructor of the Year during the 2008-2009 Season. Brian went on to continue teaching at Willamette Pass Resort in Oregon. He loved winter sports adventures with friends but especially with his sister Lindsey.

In 2014, Brian moved from New York to Oregon and settled in the Eugene, Oregon area where he was well known for his residential remodeling and custom carpentry business, Brian Patrick Building Solutions.

He owned and operated this helpful and honest home improvement business through which he served so many others. Brian was recognized for his quality craftsmanship and reputation for honest pricing. His skill and professionalism were second to none. He was also, always, so grateful to those who mentored him in building his skills and his business.

Brian was an involved and active member of Eugene Euros, a local car club. He owned, restored, and was so proud of his 1998 VW Mark III GL Jetta.

He also loved spending time with his friends in a one-wheel board riding group OW Hardaf, where he not only found joy in riding but in encouraging and teaching others to ride Onewheels.

Brian’s other passions included cooking, pizza making, fishing, bicycling, shooting sports, beach camping in his RV, kayaking, nature, and being in the outdoors - especially when these were shared with family and friends.

While Brian had many interests, passions, and admirable traits, above all else his love and concern for others were fundamental to who he was. Throughout his life, he was kind and attentive to seniors. He was a self-appointed neighborhood watchman and was always ready to help a friend or neighbor in need. In 2021, Brian felt called to volunteer for several weeks in Blue River, Oregon with the Cascade Relief Team, an organization dedicated to helping families clean up and rebuild their homes and their community after a devastating wildfire.

During his life, Brian was the beneficiary of great love and support from the alcohol recovery community and through volunteer work sought to help others who shared the same struggle. Those whose lives include struggles with alcohol, and those who love them, know that addictions of all types can seem elective when, like other diseases, it is not. Similar to other diseases, the suffering of a loved one with any type of addiction is felt and shared by the family. Yet struggles with alcohol never defined Brian. It is something he bravely fought.

Throughout his life, Brian achieved more victory over that than defeat. Through that, he had such wonderful success in his business and personal life. A testimony to that is his remarkable number of friends and the richness he brought to the lives of so many through his business, volunteer work, and shared recreational activities.

We are so very grateful to family and friends who joined us in loving, encouraging, and cheering Brian on in life.

Until we one day see you again, we love you, Brian. We are proud to be your family and we are proud of who you were and the legacy of your life. We’ll miss you every day!

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