My dear friend Gary passed away this week. Here on eGullet, you saw his many posts as "gbredben". He was 44 and lived in South Philadelphia. He died of a pulmonary embolism.
In Philadelphia, and on much of the East Coast, if you went to a beer event, beer festival, or food festival, you saw Gary Bredbenner. He was ubiquitous. And his passion for food and drink was contagious.
He was a regular prescence on eGullet. org, Facebook, Twitter and a lot of other beer and food websites. He chimed in almost every week on our weekly Friday night beer chat, The No Bull Inn on http://www.starchat.net/. Beer writer Lew Bryson has this to say:"Gary always was the happy person in the room. I'll miss his smile and jolly eyes. Nice guy, loved beer, good to be with." Famed Philly bartendrix Katie Loeb, who works at the new Oyster House wrote me too: "I always looked forward to having Gary come visit me at wherever I was working at the time. He would make my day with his sense of humor, great stories and incredible joie de vivre. He was a ray of sunshine. I will miss him."
Gary loved barbecue, and was a regular practitioner of the art himself. He was an avid homebrewer and made some pretty tasty beers. And he loved those Philadelphia Eagles and went to their training camp at Lehigh every summer and to as many home games as he could. He loved the Phillies, too, but he bled Eagles green.
He is the only person to have participated in every one of my annual Golden Age of Beer in Philadelphia Tours across 11 years. That's always amazed me. But he loved them, and was always one of the first folk to sign up every year.
But aside from all that, Gary was a good soul. He was sweet to my kids. Ben and Sophie loved when we would have dinner with him, or meet him at my favorite watering hole, the Grey Lodge.
That is where I last saw him a week ago, celebrating Xmas in July, just as you'd expect him.
His funeral is Monday July 27th, 11am @
The Roat Kriner Funeral Home
1715 Bloom Rd
Danville, PA 17821
p: 570 275 0412
Gary Bredbenner (gbredben), RIP
Started by
Rich Pawlak
, Jul 24 2009 03:57 PM
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This topic is locked
9 replies to this topic
#2
mattohara
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- participating member
- 337 posts
Posted 25 July 2009 - 05:12 AM
Sorry for your/our loss Rich. Sorry I never got to meet him. It sounds like you have a lot of great memories to keep with you.
#3
KatieLoeb
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- eGullet Society staff emeritus
- 9,138 posts
Posted 25 July 2009 - 06:46 AM
This makes me so sad. If you looked around the room, Gary was always the fellow with the widest smile and the brightest twinkle in his eye. Always a kind word for everyone. Just a super nice guy. A mensch, as my Bubbe would say. He'll be missed by a lot people. And rightfully so. The world's a little less cheery today without Gary in it... 
Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor
Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor
Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol
#4
Rich Pawlak
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- eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Posted 25 July 2009 - 09:36 AM
Matt you were probably at a lot of beer and food events where Gary was also in attendance, like Grey Lodge's Friday The Firkinteenth, or a slew of Philly Beer Week events, or The Book and the Cook, stuff like that. Gary always seemed to be everywhere. That's why he'll be sorely missed here and around Philly.Sorry for your/our loss Rich. Sorry I never got to meet him. It sounds like you have a lot of great memories to keep with you.
#6
Rich Pawlak
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Posted 27 July 2009 - 08:40 PM
And here is Gary Bredbenner's obituary from today's Philadelphia Daily News:
http://www.philly.co..._a_fun_guy.html
http://www.philly.co..._a_fun_guy.html
#7
Rich Pawlak
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- eGullet Society staff emeritus
- 1,871 posts
Posted 28 July 2009 - 10:41 PM
This is an exceptional piece of writing, Lew Bryson's poignant telling of Gary Bredbenner's funeral on Monday.
A fitting farewell to our friend.
A fitting farewell to our friend.
#8
GordonCooks
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- participating member
- 2,546 posts
Posted 29 July 2009 - 04:53 AM
Much too young.
Cheers, RIP
Cheers, RIP
#10
Rich Pawlak
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- eGullet Society staff emeritus
- 1,871 posts
Posted 12 August 2009 - 05:56 PM
We're putting the finishing touches on the Memorial Service for our dear friend Gary Bredbenner at the Grey Lodge Public House on August 18 at 6:30. Several of us will speak; Lew Bryson will read from his touchingly brilliant telling of Gary's burial and wake, and we'll be enjoying some very good stories, food and drink in Gary's memory. I hope you can join us.
http://www.theomnivorenow.blogspot.com
http://www.theomnivorenow.blogspot.com
