Lars Erik Brandt

Lars Erik Brandt, age 70, of Fancy Gap, Virginia, passed away on October 3, 2022. He is survived by his wife, Alfa Calito Brandt, step-children & grandchildren, and his sons, Erik Brandt and Cory Brandt, daughter-in-law, Kayla Jones and grandchildren, Teya, Tyke and Elsa Brandt.

To our dear Larry,
You came to the family as a hopeful and pleasant surprise.
You filled parts of our lives that only you could have filled.
Because of you we came to understand that family ties are not always blood.
That having the title of husband is given only to those that know how to provide unconditional love.
We will always be your family and in our hearts you will always be missed. We will miss you today, tomorrow, and forever.
May God keep your soul and your smile intact until we have the opportunity to meet again.
Rest in peace.
With love and admiration, your wife and children

Lars Erik Brandt, my father, was a great man. He provided me with endless opportunities to succeed as I was growing up. We went countless miles up and down the east coast playing hockey in the youth leagues. I was able to attend college in Colorado and to experience Outdoor Leadership program for mountaineering in Chile, South America. Recently my dad and I have been playing ice hockey together until this day. He loved his grand kids and would do anything for them. He also loved our two big red dogs and he built them an 8’X8’ dog house so they could be warm in the cold mountain wind! He loved to play golf and go for walks in the cool mountain air. When he was in town, you could always bet he would stop by for a cold beer around 5 or 6 PM in the afternoon. I will forever miss my father, Lars Erik Brandt. I wish so much you would come down my driveway in that bright orange golf cart. I love you so much dad and I hope to see you again. Cory

My dad, Lars Erik Brandt, grew up and lived his first 29 years in Sweden. He went to school for engineering and worked many odd jobs around Stockholm in his 20s. During a vacation with his friends in the U.S., he found out about a flight school in Miami. He won enough money betting on horse races back in Sweden to come to flight school the following year. He started as a flight instructor outside of Mount Airy, NC and Hillsville, VA shortly after where he met my mom, Pam. They married and had my brother Cory while living in Greensboro, NC. After they moved to Winston-Salem, NC, he got a job as copilot with American Airlines and I was born a few years later. They built the house I grew up in Lewisville, NC with his increasing wealth. He showed me my first chords and bought me my first guitar, a used flying V that I play on stage to this day. When my parents split up, he took me on a trip to DC in what would become my first car that I will never forget, where we went to the Smithsonian Institute and other historic sights that had a large influence on me. We took many trips to Sweden throughout my life and I tried my best to learn Swedish over the years. He married my step mom Alfa in Guatemala, and I went there to visit twice, both times were a lot of fun and we went to many awesome places there. My dad has done so much for me over the years and him cosigning on my house I recently bought is the only reason I was able to do so. He was a very worldly and interesting man and lived a life of travel and vast experiences. I loved him so much and wish I could hug him one last time. I find some solace in that he died quickly while taking a walk on a beautiful day in the mountains, I think it’s exactly the way he wanted to go. I love you, min Far, min Kompis, my Dad. Erik

Memorial service will be at Vaughan-Guynn-McGrady Chapel on Saturday, October 8, 2022 at 2 PM.