CHRIS KELLY staff Kaci Brannick, 17, and Krysten Brannick, 14, watch their younger sister, Katarena, 9, pull names for teams at a charity flag football/soccer game held Saturday night in memory of their father, Russell Brannick, a longtime Brick public works supervisor who died suddenly on Sept. 21. Dianne Lungari is holding the name envelopes. For story, see page 3. BRICK TOWNSHIP – Russell Brannick spent the last day of his life doing what he liked to do.
He went to his daughter’s soccer game at Brick Township High School. He went home and barbecued for his three girls and his fiancée.
“He was fine,” said his best friend Patrick Kearns, who saw him that afternoon. “He was great.”
But shortly after dinner, Russ Brannick went to lie down. He wasn’t feeling well.
When his fiancée went into check on him, he wasn’t moving, Kearns said.
“They called me when they were doing CPR,” he said. “They asked me to come to the hospital with them.”
But Brannick was gone, dead at 45 from a previously diagnosed heart condition.
PHOTOS BY CHRIS KELLY staff Top: For those who knew him, it was not a problem to brave a cold Saturday night to participate in a charity flag football/soccer fundraiser to honor Russell Brannick. Brannick, a longtime Brick public works supervisor and sports coach, died suddenly in September. Proceeds from the event will go to his three daughters. Bottom: Vince Lungari, Brick, flies after the ball at the fundraiser. He had worked at the Brick Township Public Works Department for 25 years. He was a supervisor when he died.
He left behind three daughters, Kaci, 17, Krysten, 14, and Katarena, 9.
His death stunned many in the Brick community who knew him not only through work, but as a soccer coach and friend.
“Lots of friends asked if we were going to do anything,” Kearns said.
So the Twin County Soccer Association of Brick teamed up Brick Pop Warner to hold a combination charity football and soccer match in honor of the two sports he loved the most.
“We just wanted to do as much as we could,” said Kearns, who is president of the TCSA. “You work for the town, you don’t make a lot of money. The soccer board wanted to do something, open up a checking account and hold fundraisers to raise money for the kids.”
The fundraiser was held on the chilly night of Nov. 10. Brannick’s girls were there. Katarena picked the names for each team.
The turnout was outstanding, Kearns said.
“I was very happy, with the weather being so cold and that many people showed up,” he said. “I had between 45 to 50 people playing in the game. When I turned around and saw the stands were full, I was very touched.”
The players were a mix of Brick employees, police officers, Pop Warner and Twin County Soccer coaches.
The soccer players played football and the football players played soccer. Some were good athletes, some were not.
“It was pretty funny,” he said. Most of them were just guys that came out to enjoy the evening and to honor him. Some guys came in jeans and sneakers to play.”
The two groups raised $6,000 from the charity game, Kearns said.
The weeks since his friend’s death have been tough, he said.
“If I needed something, a piece of furniture moved, just a ride, he was always there,” Kearns said. “If you called him, he was always there for you. He always had his little one liners.”
Brannick’s three daughters are doing as well as could be expected. Their father had custody of them. They are facing a difficult family situation as a result of his death, Kearns said.
“The trust is all going to the girls, no matter what,” he said.
Anyone who wants to donate may contact Kearns at P.O. Box 4408, Brick, NJ, 08723, by e-mail at [email protected], or by phone at (732) 779-4136.