Gerard Martin Brennan

Gerard, or Gerry as he was known to most, was born May 30,1938 in the small village of Mountmellick, Ireland. His father James was a headmaster of the local school which Gerry and his four siblings attended and his mother was homemaker and tailor. At age twelve he was sent to a private boarding school and from there to St. Patrick’s College in Carlow, Ireland where he entered the seminary and studied for six years to become a Catholic priest. From the seminary his first priestly assignment was to Anaheim, CA. After serving a parish in Anaheim he was reassigned to two other parishes in Southern California and attended Marymount College where he earned his master’s degree in education and subsequently taught high school. While teaching high school he discovered teaching was not his forte so he resigned his teaching position and the priesthood.

While Gerry had a rich education he had no job experience when he left the priesthood. He eventually became a very successful office furniture sales person and worked for large design firms in the Los Angeles area. With the experience and knowledge learned while working for others he launched his own office furniture business until 2008 when the economy declined. After the furniture business closed Gerry became a licensed commercial insurance broker. He worked until he was 78 years old and widowed. All during his working years he was an avid golfer, playing to a 2 handicap. He won many tournaments throughout Southern California and elsewhere. His first hole-in-one was in Australia and two more in California.

In 1972 Gerry married Nora Bradley from Kerry, Ireland. They were married for 44 years before Nora succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease.

Gerry married his second wife Cheri in 2017 in Ladera Ranch, CA. They traveled to the UK, Ireland, and New Zealand before Covid. In 2021 they decided to move to Greenville, SC to be near Cheri’s son and her grandchildren.

Gerry is survived by Cheri and two step-children, Douglas Shirts (Tammy) of Lyman, SC and Catherine Shirts (Tracie) of Rancho Santa Margarita,CA, brother in law Al Clerc (Patricia) of San Juan Capistrano, CA, as well as three step-grandchildren, Jesse (Sarah) Shirts, Chloe Shirts, and Zachariah Shirts.

He is also survived by his three sisters, Claire Brown of Manchester, UK; Maureen Dillon of Cavan, County Meath, Ireland; Helen Prendergast of Midleton, County Cork, Ireland; and his brother, Seamus Brennan of Roosky, County Leitrim, Ireland, and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and countless friends in Ireland, California, and South Carolina.