JOHN MATTHEW BRENNEMAN
SEPT. 15,1975 – MAR. 11,2014
John was born into a family with an older sister Julie, an older brother Jay and two surprised parents Jim and Judy. We thought Judy had the flu, not morning sickness. Given the family tradition, unknowingly established, his first name would have to start with “J” thus John.
John was born and raised in the small town of Santa Maria CA. He attended Miller Street School for Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd Grades. He started 3rd Grade at St. Mary's Catholic School through the 6th Grade. Then attended Fesler Junior High School for the 7th and 8th Grades and onto St. Joseph High School for four years and Graduation in 1993.
John was a good boy and was not a hard one to raise, but he did have his moments. When he was three or four he walked through the living room carrying a screw driver toward his room. When asked why he replied he was going to take apart his sit and spin. Which he did. Reassembly was performed later by Dad. He liked to see how things worked and had an aptitude for mechanical and electrical work.
John enjoyed sports and excelled as a Junior Bowler and attended State tournaments with his friends on Rancho Bowl teams. After he grew up and left home he almost always had two bowling balls in the trunk of his car, in case a bowling opportunity materialized. He took up throwing the Discus in High School and in his Senior year he went to the California Southern Section CIF finals to qualify for the state tournament and missed qualifying by one slot, they took 9 throwers and John finished 10th with his best throw of the season.
John was a great person and devoted to his friends and family. He was not lucky in love. He wanted the dream, but the women he chose did not. He stayed for 5 years with the first love and finally ended it with no children. He then married a woman with 3 children and was happy to act as their father for 9 years. Kayla, Alexis and Kenneth (Bubba) Smart were very much loved by John, and were placed with their biological Dad after his second divorce. However he did get full custody of his children from that marriage , Emily and Matthew. His greatest joy was the successes of all 5 of the children and he enjoyed sharing their stories.
John joined the Army in May of 1999, not wanting to go to college at the time, but looking for training he could use in life, plus the benefits of college subsidies he could use later. He went to a 9 month Medical Equipment Course and was the honor graduate. Because of his ability to assimilate and retain information, he was able to not only utilize his high school education to advance him in his class, but also to tutored others who were struggling. John was sent to Kuwait and then into Iraq as a part of the invasion force in 2003. He left the Army with an honorable discharge in May 2005, because he did not want to be separated from his family in the future.
John then moved his family from his last Military duty station in San Antonio, TX to Columbia, MO, where he worked for Modern Biomedical Services, Inc. in support of the Moberly Regional Medical Center (MRMC). He was a Bio-Medical Technician there, repairing and maintaining medical equipment within the hospital complex. He loved his job and the people he worked with both within Modern Biomedical and MRMC.
The friends he met through work and outside work, in his community, were important to him and he was always willing and able to lend a helping hand when needed. He loved to coach discus and found a small school that could use his help. He also helped coach his children's teams as they began playing
sports. He was active in helping his children succeed in school and placed a heavy emphasis on the importance of school in them.
While the help he provided to others was part of his legacy, their help in working him through the rough parts of his life was also important. The people that knew him always describe him as happy and cheerful to all. He was moving his life into a better place after his last divorce and his positive attitude was shining through. It was a tragedy when a drunk driver, going the wrong way on a divided highway, ended his young life on 11 March 2014.
John made the world around him a better place while he was here and no one can ask more than that.