Christopher H. Brandon
Christopher was born in Seaford Town Jamaica and adopted as a newborn by Horace and Kathleen Brandon who, 13 months later, adopted his newborn brother Peter. Christopher was the first legal adoption on the Island. Five years later, Kathleen gave birth to Mary Kay.
The three had a wonderful childhood together on the island. After graduating from Campion College in 1974, Christopher joined the Jamaica Defense Force and traveled to England where he attended the Officer Training Academy of the Royal Air Force. After a six-month illness, he received an Honorable Discharge in 1975.
After recuperating in Kingston, Christopher came to Miami to study at the University of Miami, graduating in 1980 with a degree in Business Administration. After working a year for Biscayne Federal in Miami, he went back to Kingston in 1981 and worked for Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co. In 1984 he returned to Miami, and in 1986 he went to work for Miami Dade County as an administrator, working with a number of departments until he settled into a position at the Water and Sewer Department. After 35 years with the County, Christopher retired earlier this year.
In the 20 years he was a member at St Stephen’s, Christopher volunteered at the annual Arts & Crafts Show, served a term on the Board of Trustees for the Endowment Fund, and volunteered in the tax prep center since its first year. He also was serving as Treasurer on the board of CRC Community Support, a related entity to Care Resource.
In 1989, Christopher met Russell at church after a Good Friday service. They had their first date a week later and moved in together in 1990. They were married on June 14, 2014, at the home of friends in Brooksville, Maine and had their marriage blessed that fall at their parish in Miami.
For the thirty-two years they were together Christopher and Russell entertained every chance they got. Christopher complained constantly about the cost of having people to dinner but loved being, and was always, the most gracious and entertaining host.
Christopher loved to travel and took Russell, on some truly amazing vacations: San Fransisco CA, a driving trip through Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, cruises with groups of friends and family in the Caribbean, through French Polynesia, Norway, from Ft Lauderdale to Rome, from Venice to Rome, the Panama Canal, and numerous others as well as a river cruise up the Rhine from Amsterdam to Basil Switzerland where we spent time with cousins and toured Switzerland. There were trips to England with family and friends for birthday parties, one driving trip from London up into Scotland with friends, and a month in Barcelona with ‘the boys’. He told his sister that without Russell he would have never traveled so much but, without Christopher, Russell would never have gotten to travel so much.
In 2016 they began the search for the home where they would spend their retirement in Maine and, shortly after Christopher’s retirement, headed to Bucksport. There Christopher was able to spend his last months enjoying the cool summer, seeing the evening sun reflect off the Penobscot River, entertaining visiting friends and family, going to dinner, having people over, and watching the leaves change from green to gold.
Christopher’s pulmonary disease advanced much more quickly than expected, and he began to decline in the early fall. Although he never complained to anyone, breathing had become more difficult by the last week in October, and he was hospitalized. He continued to decline for a week, and on his last day, after having made final requests of Russell and his sister Mary Kay, said that he was ready and we needed to let him go. The end was peaceful with Russell, MaryKay, Camilla, and Joseph with him.
Christopher was predeceased by his parents Horace and Kathleen and his brother Peter. He is survived by his husband Russell, his sister Mary Kay and her husband Rob, by his nephew Ryan, and by his niece Tara, her husband Elliot, and their son Miles. He is also survived by his brother-in-law Jay and his wife Tina, niece Heather, her husband Scott, their children, Addie and Bella, nephew Stephen and his wife Keri, their children Braydon and Ellia, and nephew Dillon. Numerous cousins spanning three generations comprise a long list of survivors.