Barry Brief
It is with a heavy
heart we say goodbye
to our husband, father,
grandfather, brother, and
uncle, Barry Brief. Barry
“Bear” Brief passed away in
his home in Laguna Beach,
Wednesday, March 3, 2010,
with his family at his side.
He died of Cancer at 68
years old.
To the community of
Orange County and Laguna
Beach, where he lived for the last 40 years, he was a successful
businessman, entrepreneur and risk taker. To his family and
friends, he was loving, generous, entertaining and inspirational.
His motto was “work hard and play hard” and he did just that.
He was a voracious reader of non-fiction, a world traveler and
proud liberal democrat. He loved bringing people together from
different walks of life and he could captivate any crowd with his
humor and storytelling. He was truly the “Life of the Party.”
He had a zest for life that was contagious. On a whim
he took his entire family: parents, children, brothers, nieces
and nephews on a trip to China in the 1990’s. He loved the
Olympics and brought his family to the games in Los Angeles
in 1984, Barcelona in 1992, Atlanta in 1996, and Australia in
2000. More recently, he took his entire family on wonderful
cruises through the Panama Canal and Alaska. He also took
care of his parents so they could live comfortably in their old
age.
Barry was very fond of the arts and had a great appreciation
for ballet, theater, artwork and music. He contributed to the
original building fund for the Orange County Performing Arts
Center, Irvine Barclay Theater and South Coast Repertory. You
can find his name on the walls of these landmarks. He was also
formerly on the Board of Directors for the Laguna Art Museum
and donated an impeccably restored vintage Porsche, which
was on display for a year.
Barry was a big supporter of many political candidates
and various initiatives. He hosted numerous fundraisers at his
home. He was personal friends with members of the Kennedy
family and he organized and attended a peace march in Russia
in the 1980’s.
Barry valued school and higher education. He encouraged
his children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews to attend
college and work hard. He brought the entire family together for
all the graduations, celebrating each and every achievement.
Barry was sympathetic towards the poor and disadvantaged
and contributed to numerous charities and organizations. He
graciously supported over 50 philanthropic organizations. The
following were recipients of his generosity: The Friendship
Shelter in Laguna Beach, Boys and Girls Club, AIDS Project,
American Cancer Society, Christopher Reeves Paralysis
Foundation, National Parkinson Foundation, Nicole Brown
Simpson Charitable Foundation, Orange County Rescue
Mission, LA County Museum of Art, Laguna Art Museum,
Vietnam Veterans of CA, Mission Hospital, Scripps Research
Institute, United Farm Workers, Habitat for Humanity and
Mercy Corps. He was also a big supporter of education and
generously donated to SchoolPower in Laguna Beach and
Prentice School in Santa Ana.
Barry was born in Los Angeles on July 17, 1941, to Lilyan
and Jerry Brief. He was the middle brother to Howard and
Michael Brief. Barry attended Harrison Street Elementary
School in Los Angeles and Lakewood Junior High School. He
graduated from Millikan High School in Long Beach with his
best friend, the late Phil Brandts. He was happily married to
Karen Ward Brief, together for 19 years.
Barry graduated with a marketing degree from the
California State University, Fullerton. He began his career
in 1963 in the sales and marketing division of Kaufman and
Broad. He was then named director of marketing and sales for
the Larwin Company and, in 1970, was appointed national
marketing director for Leadership Housing of Newport Beach
and rose to division president in charge of western United
States operations.
He left leadership in 1974 to form the Brief Corporation,
which later merged with one of the largest builders on the east
coast. Together they developed several residential developments
in southern California during their five years together. In
the 1980’s, he developed the largest mixed use commercial
residential and recreational community known as Monarch
Beach, on the Orange County gold coast, home of the Ritz-
Carlton Hotel. Then in 1990 through the 2000’s he continued
his involvement in development and ownership of mixed use
commercial and residential properties throughout the United
States and Canada. He remained active and working until the
time of his death.
Barry is survived by his wife Karen; his daughter,
Kristin Bunn; stepsons, Carey, Kent and Drew Conklin; his
grandchildren, Brooke Bunn (10), Harper Bunn (7), Blair
Conklin (14), Danielle Conklin (10); his siblings, Howard
and Michael Brief; nephews Garrett and Shanon Brief; nieces,
Seana Newcomb and Kameron Beaulieu. Barry is predeceased
by his parents Lilyan and Jerry Brief.
A private “Celebration of Life” will be held at a later date
with family and close friends. In lieu of flowers, the family asks
donations be made in his honor to one of the following nonprofit organizations: American Cancer Society www.cancer.org, The Friendship Shelter www.thefriendshipshelter.org,
SchoolPower www.lbschoolpower.org, or Boys and Girls Club
of Laguna Beach www.bgclaguna.org.
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of
arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather
to slide in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and
proclaiming, “Wow, what a ride.” Thank you Barry for showing
us how to live life to its fullest!
O’Connor Mortuary, (949) 581-4300
www.oconnormortuary.com
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