Terry Hamilton Brennen
Terry Hamilton Brennen of Appomattox, Virginia
December 25, 1941 - August 30, 2022
Terry Hamilton Brennen, 80, of Appomattox, VA, departed this world on Tuesday, August 30, 2022, and was welcomed into his new eternal home to be with His King.
Tensions were great in the air, only weeks after the bombing at Pearl Harbor, when Terry was born at home in Phoenixville, PA on a snowy Christmas Day in 1941. He was a son of the late Veronica Stephens Brennen and Roy Hamilton Brennen.
Terry was the loving husband of Eileen Adamczyk Brennen. They had been a team for 59 ½ years and he had always been her “Knight in Shining Armor”!
In addition to his wife, he is survived by four children, Toby Brennen and wife, Pamela and their children, Amanda and Morgan of Roswell, GA; Lorraine Gilliam and husband Jim and their children, Michael, Daniel, Nicholas and Jonathan, of Ruckersville, VA; Roy Brennen and Victoria Hart and their son Shea “Bean” Brennen of Honolulu, HI; and Adam Brennen and his children, Haley and Jordan Brennen of Centennial, CO.
He was the youngest of three children, surviving him are sister, Lois Dougherty of Royersford, PA; and a brother, Kenneth Brennen of Englewood, FL.
Terry spent a lifetime of service to his community and the world, retiring from Virginia Department of Forestry in 2008. The forest was his “mistress” and he grieved leaving her after 36 years.
Terry could get those forest trees growing and even though not an official Master Gardner he had the skills to grow lovely flowers and the artistic eye for arranging them to make them even more beautiful than they had been in the fields.
Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Appomattox was a mission church in 1978, when he came to VA. Terry was one of the Founding Members, and active in this now flourishing community.
This quiet introverted man, whose hero was the Lone Ranger, served for years in many mission fields, from Catholic Prison Ministry, to KAIROS Prison Ministry where he was often acknowledged as “The Silent Clown”.
Terry also served as a Volunteer Chaplin at Fluvanna Women’s Correctional Center and as a volunteer for Centra Hospice and The Free Clinic of Central VA. For years he patterned with a youngster with physical disabilities and chauffeured another to and from her work place.
The Southside Emmaus Community, of which he also was a part, shared this note presented by his team mate: Terry originally made a Catholic Cursillo at The Villa in Richmond in December, 1983, and never looked back. Having teamed on Cursillo, Emmaus and Kairos weekends, prison ministry and especially KAIROS prison ministry became a vital part of his life since the very first beginnings in VA in 1989. His eyes were opened and he was a willing servant.
Terry never met a person that he didn’t want to share kind words of wisdom. He enjoyed Philadelphia Phillies Baseball, spending time with family and the whole Ecumenical Christian Community.
Those wishing to make memorial contributions please consider the Trappist Monks at New Melleray Abbey, 6632 Melleray Circle, Peosta, IA 52068 or at www.trapistcaskets.com
The monks have been vigilant caretakers of the land, practicing responsible stewardship for over 155 years. Each person who is buried in one of their caskets or urns will have a tree planted in their sustainable forest and in turn their trees provide lumber for future caskets & urns.
As a side note, donations can also be made to the Child Casket Fund which helps cover the costs of caskets for families who lose a child 13 years old or younger, including infants.
There will be a visitation at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Appomattox, VA, on September 9, 2022. Visitation begins at 10 am followed by a Mass of the Resurrection at 11am. Cremains will then be placed in the church’s adjoining cemetery.
