David C. Brenneman

David Cameron Brenneman, resident of Chappaqua, NY, died on August 31, 2013, after a fierce 16-month-long battle with a rare and aggressive form of sarcoma. He was born April 10, 1976 in Natick, Massachusetts, to Ruth and Tom Brenneman. In his short life, David worked hard to realize many dreams. Throughout his academic career, he prided himself on being a true scholar-athlete. He did track, soccer, captained his Natick High School basketball team and continued to run track in college. David earned his B.A., summa cum laude, in International Relations and Russian from Colby College and went on to Yale for his Master's in Slavic Studies and to Harvard Law School for his J.D. Upon graduation, he started working as an attorney for Davis, Polk & Wardwell in Manhattan. Subsequently, he became Vice President at Banc of America. In 2007, David moved to Morgan Stanley, where he loved working for the past six years, most recently as an Executive Director within MS Equity Risk Management. Throughout his battle with cancer, he felt that Morgan Stanley was a true second home to him. David met his wife, Mina Brenneman, at Yale in 1998, and they marked their 11th wedding anniversary on August 24, 2013, the day David was hospitalized at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. Even in the final days of his life, David continued to be a doting, gentle and incredibly involved father to his three young children: Will, 8, AJ, 6, and Maggie, 3. He was known to family, friends, colleagues and, lately, the doctors and nurses at MSK as a true gentleman, one with a dry sense of humor and wit, a passion for fine wines and good thrillers, and a lucid grasp of abstract concepts, be they literary, legal or financial. Born to a family of educators, teaching was in his blood, and he was also highly respected for his communication, negotiation and people skills. In April 2013, David was presented with a Courage Award by the Sarcoma Foundation of America, an organization for which David helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for sarcoma research. He lived up to the honor and responsibility of this award to his final breath and never gave up in spirit. Besides his parents, wife, and children, David is survived by this two brothers, Matt Brenneman and Michael Brenneman; grandparents, Richard Brenneman and Anne Cameron; nieces, Cameron and Madelyn; nephew, Tyson; parents-in-law, Margarita Koleva and Todor Nedialkov; sisters-in-law, Jennifer Brenneman and Teodora Nedialkova; brother-in-law, James Fiorile; uncles, Mark, James, Russ and Ron; aunts, Ellen, Patricia, Carol and Jane; numerous cousins, among whom Emily was like a sister to him. He was predeceased by his uncle, Mark Cameron; grandmother, Joan Brenneman; nephew, Austin Brenneman; and grandfather, Douglas Cameron. Visitation will be Wednesday, September 4, 4-8 PM at Cassidy-Flynn Funeral Home, 288 East Main St., Mt. Kisco, NY 10549. A private cremation will be held the following day. At a later date, there will be a memorial celebration of David's life, details to be announced. In lieu of flowers, it was David's wish that any potential donations be made to The Brenneman Children Fund: www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/zfm2