Keith Patrick Brumblay

My father, Keith Patrick Brumblay, born on November 29th 1952, passed away on Sunday, May 15th, 2022. The love he gave me (Natalie, 42) from the moment I was born until the day he passed will live forever in my soul and words cannot express my love for him and for the infinite ways he was so good and generous to his family and friends. My mother Adi (69), though separated from him since 2007, shares our deepest sorrow to see him leave us far too early. Their 35 years of love and partnership was filled with countless adventures. Together they hiked Machu Picchu, partied with 700,000 other souls at Watkins Glen in summer of ’73 with the Allman Brothers, the Band, and the Dead, built a magnificent house from scratch in Long Beach, NY, and even once had to escape political persecution in Peru. It was a life brimming with excitement, adventure, emotion, highs and lows. Together they gave me an incredible childhood and made sure that I got the best possible education and every opportunity in life by relocating our little family to Northport, NY—a town that my dad enjoyed immensely. I have many beautiful memories of the three of us traveling to Peru to be with my mother’s family who all loved my dad as if he was their own, especially mom’s late parents, Augusto and Olga. He is forever missed by siblings-in-law Papo, Lily, Ceci, and Nora, and his nieces and nephews, Melissa, Daniel, Adita, Maria-Paz and Camila, and countless extended members of our Doleski, Otoya, and Ruiz-Huidobro families, who are also heartbroken. His cousin-in-law Victoria, my Godmother, along with her husband David and their daughters Sarah and Claire share our loss as well. His brother James Brumblay, and his wife Nancy, came to his side to be with him and offer love in his last days and the gratitude I have for my aunt and uncle for their support is boundless. My father’s mother, Elizabeth was laid to rest in 2015, and we know there are many members of the extended Kelly family who are deeply saddened to see my dad pass on and we thank them for their love. My grandfather Richard passed away in 2013, and we are so grateful for the love of all the Connors family, especially so soon after we said goodbye to my dad’s Aunt Dot, Richard’s sister, this past fall. My dad was loved as well by Richard’s partner, my Grandmother Rosemary who passed away in 1996, and we know her extended family is holding my dad and all of us in their hearts at this time too. In 2002, my dad and grandfather enjoyed the trip of a lifetime together to Alaska to celebrate my grandfather’s 75th birthday, the memories of which brought them both so much joy for many years to come. My dad couldn’t possibly have loved my dear husband Trevor, and his two grandchildren more than he did. Dean (14) had the amazing fortune of living in the same house as my dad for the whole first year of his life and enjoyed countless snuggles and laughs together. Sabrina (10) met her Pop Pop just moments after she was born as he raced to be with us on that beautiful dawn—he couldn’t wait to get her in his arms. He was my go-to travel soccer driving partner and he loved to see his grandkids in action on the field or court. My children loved sleepovers at his place and woke up to delicious blueberry pancake brunches with warm maple syrup in his apartment in Mineola—brunching was a pastime I know he loved to share with his friends too. My dad is looking upon Trevor now with such pride for the strength he has to handle all the necessary business at this impossible moment. When Trevor and I bought our first house in 2007, it badly needed a new heating system and so my grandfather Richard and my dad built a whole new boiler for us and painstakingly installed radiators throughout our home. Literally and figuratively, the glow of his love and hard work will keep us warm for eternity. His engineering talents, the dedication to his work, and the countless relationships he fostered throughout his career must be mentioned as well. My earliest memories are of my father rocking out to some Pink Floyd or Grateful Dead while working intently on designs at his drafting table—many times I sat alongside him at Edwards and Zuck in NYC to make my own drawings while soaking up his creative energy. I know he felt it was a real homecoming to spend the rest of his career at Lizardos Engineering—he is deeply missed by dear friend John Lizardos and so many other work associates across many industries. His playful banter at work with colleagues or while recreating with countless neighborhood acquaintances and long time friends at many of his favorite haunts across Mineola is a loss beyond measure. And I imagine there are still patrons that remember his savvy skills behind the bar at Wagon Wheels many decades ago, and plenty of fellow LIRR commuters who got a kick out of him and his antics over many years. He enjoyed his travels with dear friend Dick Pearson, including many ski trips, and loved to visit his good friend Rob Lieberskind in Amsterdam. There are too many close friends to name and I am so thankful for every soul that shared a drink with him, played a round of golf with him, or cheered on the Rangers by his side, or enjoyed a good tune or show with him, or had a friendly debate with him on his many political Facebook posts, or that ever smiled back to that mustachioed grin of his. In these last few years so many of his biggest and best grins are due to his love for Donna Schechter, his girlfriend of many years. She came into his life exactly when he needed it and she loved and cared for him exactly as he asked to be right up until his final moments. They were quite the match for each other and their shared love of life and music and adventure took them on travels to Cape May, Amerstdam, Santorini and Tel Aviv amongst many other places. My dad loved the rest of her family as his own— her children Melissa (who he would text to tell her how very proud he was of her achievements), Jonathan (who is generously creating a slideshow to memorialize my Dad and his many life moments), and her parents Harvey and Carole (with whom he also loved to share his infamous blueberry pancakes). He was by Donna’s side throughout the recent tragic loss of her brother. Her grief at this time is shared by our whole family and all of his friends, and we are forever bound together by our shared love for him. Knowing that my father made such amazing memories all the way up until the very end is such a blessing and brings me great comfort. Thank you to everyone mentioned here and those whose names I inadvertently missed, who are mourning alongside us. My dad, Keith, is a truly unforgettable man—he was a force to be reckoned with, he had an incredible sense of humor, so much talent, and a giant heart. Please join us in keeping his spirit alive by doing and enjoying all the things he loved to do and in his honor, please take care of each other—all the people in your lives who you keep closest to you and especially the ones that can’t be too close to you for whatever reason. With love and peace and good music and full hearts we lay him to rest and will carry on his hard work and his longing for fun and harmony in all that we do. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the American Heart Association in his memory. Thank you.