On New Year's Eve, Al Brand left Park Shore Retirement Community for a quick trip to the bank. As he crossed the street, he was hit by a car and seriously injured. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center, and on Jan. 4, 2005, he died of trauma from his injuries.
Alton Lloyd Emerson Brand is a most impressive name, but to all who knew him, he was Al.
He and his wife, Esther, were both born in Minnesota - Al on Feb. 14, 1918, as one of five children of an Evangelical pastor and district superintendent. They each left Minnesota to attend college: Al to North Central College in Naperville, Ill., and Esther to Northern Illinois University in Dekalb. Later, Al went to Vanderhook College in Chicago to earn his master's degree in music education.
After Esther and Al married, they both taught in the Sycamore, Ill., school system. Al taught social studies, history and economics, but his true love was music. He started the instrumental music program for the school district and directed the high-school band for many years.
Al and Esther retired in 1969, and they commuted for several years between Illinois and Florida. In between trips, they built their dream house themselves, from pouring the concrete to raising the roof.
They moved to Seattle in 1995, since their son and one of their daughters lived here. Park Shore became their new home, and they were rapidly involved in all the activities there, as well as in the community.
Al was the first director of the Park Shore Choir and continued to be active with the choir after he turned the baton over to Edith Shuman. He also was a member of the Park Shore Men's Quartet, a barbershop quartet that captivated their audiences wherever they appeared.
When he wasn't involved with the choir or the barbershop quartet, Al was singing or humming softly to himself.
Esther, his wife of 61 years, preceded Al in death, in 2002. He is survived by his three children: Barbara Wixon and her husband, David, of Glen Ellyn, Ill.; Kathy Brand and her husband, Don Kerns, of Seattle; and Michael Brand and his wife, Laurie Levine, also of Seattle. He also is survived by three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
As one of Al's many friends at Park Shore said, "We'll miss him. He was a good guy."[[In-content Ad]]
