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BORN

1979

DIED

2018

Brett Campbell Obituary

Brett Campbell died on July 29 two days after his thirty-ninth birthday, in Zagreb, Croatia. The cause was cancer. Born in 1979, Brett spent his childhood and adolescence in Hingham, Massachusetts, among loving family members and a series of yellow labs whose names evoked continental Europe. As a child he amused his friends by mocking the thieves and bullies who plagued their elementary school. In high school he worked at a marina, where he learned to accept petty bribes, usually cans of lager, with grace and discretion. On Wednesday nights he sometimes went sailing. The summer he turned seventeen he lived in the former Finnish capital of Turku. He went to college in central Pennsylvania; at the end of his freshman year he set his dormitory on fire, an accident, clearly, as he could never tolerate that sort of lurid self- promotion. His roommate at the time would be devoted to Brett for the rest of his life. After college he moved to Boston, shared apartments with close friends and sought to ingratiate himself with the bands who played the citys smaller music venues. He went on to attend graduate school in Washington, D.C. and while studying in Oslo the next summer he met Maa Aniic, whom, two years later, he would marry. In 2008 he moved to Zagreb, and he and Maa founded the Americki Institut, which became Croatias preeminent English- language school. It spawned a number of cut-rate imitations and received global media attention, and a cease-and-desist letter, for promotional billboards featuring an image of the American president's third wife. His life abroadfilled with travel to the corners of the world, summers surrounded by the Adriatic Sea on islands with no telephone service and preposterous and endearing local traditions related to squidinspired intense jealously among his acquaintances. Brett was a terrible gossip with a remarkable memory. For those who knew him well his sensitivity was a long-running joke, and for his sake it should be noted that the joke was always told with sympathy. He was attuned, arguably too much so, to the feelings of the people around him, which is why he tried so hard to ensure that they wouldnt hear the hilarious things he sometimes said about them behind their backs. The acute interest he took in others enabled the extraordinary loyalty and kindness he showed the people he cared about, and he lives on in their thoughts and memories. The reciprocal observation is less comforting: pieces of those people died with him. Memories of them disappeared when he did, memories that everyone but Brett had long forgotten, memories of things like an autumn day many years ago when a friend of his thought it wise to wear a Japanese firemans jacket to middle school. Perhaps there is a very faint silver lining here as well. Brett was gentle. He was extremely funny. He was thoughtful in subtle and unobtrusive ways. He is deeply, deeply mourned. He is survived by Maa; his mother, Maryanne Campbell; his father, Jay Campbell his brother, Joe Campbell; his sister, Casey Tutill poignantly, his grandfather, Joseph Campbell, Sr.; Mihajlo and urda Aniic; his dog Piko; and a cadre of friends from his youth, all of whom are lucky to have known him and distraught to have lost him. A memorial celebrating his life is being scheduled.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The Hingham Journal from Aug. 1 to Aug. 9, 2018.

Memories and Condolences
for Brett Campbell

Not sure what to say?





January 27, 2019

RIP

Ana

September 4, 2018

RIP

Cheryl Williams

August 8, 2018

Maryanne,

I hope you find comfort knowing that you were there for your son when he needed you the most.

Cheryl Williams

Phil Stanton

August 8, 2018

So sorry for your loss

Phyllis Boyd

August 4, 2018

Maryanne and family,

I am very sorry for your loss.

August 2, 2018

So profoundly sorry for Brett's passing. The miracle I was praying for didn't happen but I believe and pray he is at peace.
May thee memories of happier days ease your grief as mother, father, wife and sister.
Love and peace, Leila Walden (Peter Staunton's mom)

Leila Walden

August 2, 2018

Profoundly sorry for the loss of Brett. The miracle I was praying for didn't happen but I do pray and believe he is at peace after his long struggle.

May memories of happier days ease the loss of son, husband and brother.
Love and peace, Leila Walden (Peter Staunton's mom)

August 2, 2018

Maryanne, So sorry to hear of the loss of your beloved son. Love and prayers to you and your family Nancy Porter and Nancy McGee

Nicholas Petrucci

August 1, 2018

Jay my codlances to you and your family. The pain of losing a child is the worst pain imaginable. We just buried Gemmas youngest son (29 J less than two weeks ago

Ariel Alexovich

August 1, 2018

I'm so, so sorry to hear this news. I was an intern with Brett at the Wilson Center in DC back in the day, and he was a warm, generous and very funny guy (which would come out most at our many DC happy hours taking advantage of cheap deals for our broke budgets). Best wishes to his friends and family. xx

Jay Rafuse

August 1, 2018

Our deepest condolences to you all. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Tha Rafuse family
Clearwater, FL

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