Brenton Grossmann

URBANA - Brenton Crocker Grossmann, 68, of Urbana died at home Wednesday (May 24, 2023).

For much of his life, Brent had a bird's-eye view of the world. He founded Wry Roofing Company after receiving a degree in English from the University of Illinois and spent most of his work life in construction and roofing. He valued work, especially manual labor, and said his English degree made him great at reading the directions on the box. He also loved music. If you saw someone sporting a big mustache and whistling or singing from a rooftop, it might have been Brent.

Born on July 14, 1954, to Robert Mordue Grossmann and Phyllis Crocker Grossmann, Brent was raised in the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago and attended Morgan Park Academy. He spent summers on Burt Lake in Michigan, where his family had a cottage and where he learned to sail. When he raced the family Sunfish, he was good at strategy and being able to read the wind. This ability also came in handy when he took up skydiving.

When he first moved to Champaign, he and a friend imported blues musicians from Chicago for local concerts. Hound Dog Taylor was a favorite.

In 1983, he met his future wife, Kristen Dean, at Chico's Bar in Urbana, where they danced to Red Hot & Blue, a rockabilly band. They married in 1987, and their mutual love of music remained a focus of their life. When their daughters were young, Brent would put a record on the turntable and create names for the imaginative dances gracing the living room.

In 2010, Brent and Kristen began an annual pilgrimage to Jamaica for "Feat Camp," dancing in the sand to the band Brent most admired, Little Feat.

Brent appreciated a cheese and cracker, a good steak dinner, the Marx brothers, the Bears, mystery novels, Frank Zappa, a large cocktail, and dogs, especially the almost-human Wilrae Autobody, who was part Siberian husky, part traveling salesman.

Brent was a prolific reader and storyteller. He loved to laugh and make other people laugh, and he would work hard to make you love the things he loved. He approached brain cancer like he did most things - with courage.

Brent is survived by his wife, Kristen Dean-Grossmann; daughters, Gillian (Vincent) and Cecily (Robel); brothers, Bill (Anne) and Reid (Jamie); and two grandchildren, Solene and Hugh.

The family would like to thank Carle Hospice and Midwest Home Care caregivers Jeremy, Jim, and Liz.

A celebration of life gathering is planned for later this summer.

Memorials can be made to the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund (sweetrelief.org) or Killer Blues Headstone Project (killerblues.net).