Caring, loving, humorous, adventurous
Brian was determined and strong-willed as a child. His mom, Jennifer, said, “He was a typical boy. He loved playing outside, fishing, skateboarding, riding his bike, and being with his friends.” Brian loved showing off his bike and skateboard tricks to the family, watching movies, singing, and dancing with his sister, Brianna, now 22, and hugging and snuggling with his mom. He loved animals and often rescued them.
A favorite memory was Christmas 2020 when the family went to the mountains of North Carolina. The kids desperately wanted to see snow, and it snowed both Christmas eve and Christmas day. Brian had a ball and got interested in finding and collecting rocks while they were there. It is a memory his mom will always cherish.
Brian was a typical teenager. He loved driving and hanging out with his best friends. He worked in the fast-food industry part-time and more recently was cleaning rental cars at the airport. Brian was preparing to graduate from high school and planning what he would do next. He started smoking marijuana and two weeks prior to his death met a new girlfriend who his mother suspects was using pills. His mom said, “Things really went downhill from there.” He was given a pill labeled as Percocet, but it was pure fentanyl and took his life. He passed away two weeks prior to his high school graduation. Jennifer said, “Brian’s use of drugs was mostly experimental rather than a long addiction. We didn’t live with someone with a long substance use disorder, though I believe he was headed down that path.”
At only 18 and in high school, Brian still lived at home. His mom misses seeing and talking with him every day. Since Brian has passed away, her mission is to educate people and raise awareness about illicit fentanyl and street drugs. “If I can save another child and family from going through this horrible tragedy, then I am honoring my son.”
Brian’s mother, Jennifer Volbrecht, provided the information for this narrative
September 22, 2002-May 16, 2021
Age 18-Using drugs experimentally for less than one year
