Birth date: Mar 2, 1953 Death date: Apr 28, 2020
Brenda Ann Galloway passed away in Tacoma, WA on April 28th, 2020 at 2am. She was 67 years old. Brenda Ann Galloway was the daughter of John Pierce Marchand I and Mary Leola Walker-Marchand. She is survived by her son Thomas Gall Read Obituary
I only met her once, very briefly when I ran into her and Levi outside of the apartments. She had such a calm and soothing voice. Just an aura of a kind soul that you couldn't help but feel like you're loved. Reading other stories, it seems like she had that effect on everyone else as well.
My condolences to Levi, his father, and the rest of her family and friends.
"Brenda was a loving friend & a great confident. We talked on the phone everyday. She always lifted me up when I was sad. Brenda will be greatly missed. May she rest in peace.
Carol J Saint Spruell
I will always remember the summer aunt Brenda came to stay with us when I was little. Her taking her glass eye out for us to look at, teaching us how to read Braille, & just being in awe of what all she could do. I will never forget when she was there staying with us for a visit, she stayed up late with my brother, mason, & I, and we were playing monopoly at the kitchen table & mason tried cheating & moving one of his pieces, he was being as quiet as he could to move his piece, & aunt Brenda saying “Oh no! Don’t you be moving your piece, it’s not your turn!” We were in such shock that she knew he was cheating. It’s funny how you always remember those simple little memories, I think those are the best memories to hold on to. We will always love & remember you Aunt Brenda.
You will be missed by all that knew you.
Love,
Chelsey Burden-Williams
We've all heard that losing one sense heightens the others. I know firsthand that must be true, unless you were wearing hearing aids the time I visited Tacoma as a preteen. I remember kicking back on a bed in one the bedrooms of your home and watching TV. To my left was an open closet and two cans of Pringles begging to be eaten. The door to the bedroom was open, but I wasn't worried about that since you were blind, and I snuck one of those cans to the bed and munched away.
At the sound of your footsteps coming down the hall, I very carefully and quietly grabbed another Pringle and stuck it in my mouth. I don't remember the exact words that came out of your mouth, but I know for sure one of them was Pringles. You knew! Hahaha. Not just that I'd been eating, but you knew exactly what I was eating. Boy was I in trouble. 😂 I still imagine you must've had supersonic hearing and a shark-like ability to smell.
I remember Grandpa offering to let you drive his van while we were all packed in it. Of course you were up for it. You just had one request: for him to tell you when to stop and turn. I've no doubt you would have succeeded, but I sure didn't want to be in that van if and when you tried. :joy:
But that was you. You didn't look at things as permanent obstacles. There was always a way around them, and you never thought there was any reason why you shouldn't be able to do something. You were amazing, Aunt Brenda. I wish I would have told you how inspired I truly was and still am by you. We have a son, as you know, with his own disability, but you're the reason we've approached it the way we have: by encouraging him to see himself beyond the difficulties that come with his autism.
Fly high, Aunt Brenda. You are missed and loved, but your legacy will live on through the many people you've inspired here.
My condolences to Thomas, Levi, Aunt Madeline, my dad, Aunt Cheryl, and Aunt Lucy. I know you all were especially close to her, and you're all in my thoughts.
Much love,
Jennifer
I think being born blind and never "seeing" the world as a child, teenager, young adult, middle-aged and finally senior citizen would be totally different. I married her sister, Madeline, in 2012. I think my wife always thought she needed to help Brenda and she was her "eyes" to help her "see" the world as a child and teenager. Madeline is a wonderful person to do that as she is so patient. She also defended her sister from others who could not understand how to live and be blind at the same time. My wife was so humble and loving toward her older sister and Madeline even felt she should help Brenda's friends, who were also blind. Brenda did not want sympathy and did not feel others should pity her. She learned to do for others for the only reason to help in whatever way she could. She wanted others to be happy and shared their happiness. She could play the piano, she was able to marry, she had a son and a grandson who admired her. I was amazed at what she could accomplish living an independent life. Pride was not the reason, her reason was just because she could. To me, she was an example of how to be unselfish. I am happy she now can "see" and I know Jesus will restore her sight for all eternity. How happy she must be to live in a heavenly body! I felt blessed to know her.
My best memories of Aunt Brenda kind of run together, but are the times that my family visited her apartment. Aunt Brenda was always so kind and attentive to my kids. My Son Jaden, was having speech problems and every time we visited, she would take some time to work with him on the words he struggled to pronounce. Aunt Brenda was certainly an overcomes in her own right, but she also went out of her way to help others. That was always astounding to me. She cared so much about other people despite her own challenges and truly had a gift of teaching. Aunt Brenda, you were such a special person and you will be missed, but I know you are in a better place. I love you.
My memories with Brenda was when I first met her. I wanted her to play the bridal march for our wedding. I remember showing mama my bridal bouquet and was going to put it away. Mama said to show it to Brenda. I was surprised how Brenda meticulously touched as if wanted to see every flower on the bouquet. She made us a couple of pies and I was blown away by how pretty and how delicious those pies were. She played the piano for us. I had been studying piano since I was 7 years old. I remembered telling John (Pierce) that I will never play in front of Brenda because she was so good that it will be embarrassing to play in her presence. Brenda, you truly are an amazing person. I will miss you. Rest in peace, sister-in-law. Now, you will be able to see Jesus. Love, Lee.
My deepest sympathies for Thomas and Levi. As Brenda's brother, I am so proud of what she had accomplished in her life despite her blindness. Her independence and determination helped her succeed far beyond what most would say is not possible. She was able to achieve her masters degree while navigating around Southeastern Louisiana University campus with only the assistance of a cane and the occasional question of where the heck am I at. One of my favorite memories is going on bike rides on her two seated bike. She loved to ride fast. Despite the frequent necessary unannounced swerves, slamming on the breaks or the frightful command of "HOLD ON", not once did she complain. When we would hit a hump in the sidewalk and go airborne her only response was lets do that again. Brenda always had unyielding trust in me despite the numerous near death experiences we encountered on her bike. As I reflect back on those experiences, Brenda was the optimum example of what it means to live by faith, having total trust and confidence in someone while not knowing what situations or circumstances await you. Brenda, you were such an amazing example and inspiration of what it means to be an overcomer and what can be achieved regardless of being handicapped. We had recently been talking on the phone and the subject of eyesight came up. Brenda told me the first thing she would ever see would be the face of Jesus. Brenda, I love you and you will be greatly missed. Love, Brother.
Brenda and I played music growing up in the sixties and that commonality drew us close to one another. I bought my first guitar in 1966 and taught myself to play whereas Brenda was classically trained from an early age. That proved to be no obstacle but it drove Brenda nuts when I played by ear rather than reading music. One particular night we filled glasses with water and Brenda would instruct me to add or remove water until they were tuned to the key of C. Brenda then played piano while I tapped out the melody on the glasses with spoons! I would play a note on my guitar and she would correctly identify it everytime which amazed me! These are fond memories and I will miss her!
