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.friendshipshelter.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