Compassionate, wickedly humorous, spontaneous, loving, gentle
As an only child, Brandon constantly sought friendship. With his broad smile and compassionate nature, he was never short of company. He and most of his friends bonded over their shared love for sports and music. They went from playing YMCA basketball to varsity ball together, from attending concerts to forming their own band.
Brandon was extremely conscious of others’ opinions; Boy Scouts became a refuge from this self-doubt. He learned skills for camping and hiking, including how to tie sturdy knots, which proved useful when he began rappelling cliffs, rafting through the Rockies, sailing the Florida Keys, and climbing Mount Shavano’s 14,235-foot summit with his father, Doug. He became an Eagle Scout on January 30, 2008.
Brandon’s experience with substance use disorder challenged his pursuit of higher education. “While using drugs, it seemed like Brandon was in a shell, unable to escape,” Doug said. “He was physically there, but didn’t seem like the same person.” Brandon participated in many treatment programs, though he disliked admitting this aloud. His hyper-awareness of others’ opinions made him feel ashamed. This became exacerbated when—even within recovery programs—he was looked down upon for using harm-reduction medication. The feelings of inferiority and failure only increased when he relapsed. Doug and his wife, Patti, wished that others could accept that “recovery is not ‘one size fits all.’”
Brandon’s treatment plans limited his work options as he could not work anywhere that served liquor. He worked at fast-food restaurants and, though he hated them, he never let that or his own troubles stifle his compassion. Doug remembers one frosty night during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic: “An unhoused man showed up at the restaurant’s back door. They fed him and assumed he’d gone back onto the streets; but later, Brandon noticed the man by the dumpster. He loaded the man into his car and took him to a shelter for the night.” While his parents worried about their son contracting the virus, Brandon only prioritized the man’s safety and comfort. Not even a global pandemic could shake his kindness.
Brandon enrolled at Texas Tech, making friends with other students in recovery and finally enjoying his college life. However, after watching many of these friends graduate, he began struggling with his depression. He later transferred to the University of Central Oklahoma, where Brandon’s talent for writing flourished. His passion and skill earned him a position as sports editor for the university newspaper and drew local recognition. He dreamed of pursuing a career in sports writing, blogging, and podcasting.
In December 2021, he began writing an autobiography, The Beginning of the End. When Brandon passed away from Fentanyl poisoning a few months later, his girlfriend Meg placed a copy of the forward in his memory box. The church was near capacity during his funeral. Even the Oklahoma City Thunder contributed a beautiful bouquet with a card, thanking Brandon for his faithful coverage of the team. “He was a special person, not just a man that suffered with addiction for ten years,” Doug said. “His life’s story was much larger than the disease.”
Patti and Doug miss Brandon’s sense of humor and the long walks they took with his beloved dog, Toby. The family volunteers at shelters and food drives, and advocates for mental health issues, education on addiction, and wider availability of overdose reversal drugs. “Initially, we tried to hide his disease, but how do you address the stigma if you aren’t willing to discuss it?”
Brandon’s parents, Doug and Patti Dale, provided the information for this narrative.
January 21, 1990-April 21, 2022–Age 32
Portrait Artist: Jeremy Hebbel
Narrative Writer: Angela Day
