Brandt Kim Morrell
September 22, 1951 - May 23, 2015
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Brandt Kim Morrell
September 22, 1951 - May 23, 2015
Obituary
Brandt Kim Morrell, 63, passed away on May 23, 2015. He was born on Sept. 22, 1951, in San Francisco, to Clarence Ray Morrell and Donna Marie Klingler (née Meyer).
After spending his early childhood in Burlingame, Calif., Brandt graduated in 1969 from Del Oro High School in Loomis, Calif. He then earned a BS degree in human resources management from California State University, Sacramento, and later attended executive management programs at Northwestern University in Chicago. He was a member of the Phi Beta Lambda organization and edited his college newspaper.
Brandt married Barbara Ellen Reed in 1973, right before college graduation, in Sacramento. Together, they happily brought three daughters into their family between 1977 and 1989; Brandt devoted much of his life to lavishing time, energy and love on his tribe.
Brandt was an executive for 22 years at Moore Corporation in the Fresno, Chicago and San Francisco areas, most recently as vice president of western area sales and executive sponsor of Moore’s sales automation project. In 1995, Brandt was honored with the Moore Chairman’s World Class Award as Top Senior Executive in the U.S. in front of an audience of thousands. He joined Altec Inc in May 1996 as chief operating officer, president, and partner; he remained dedicated to the company’s success until his passing.
In his free time, Brandt had passions for cars, interior decorating, and spending time with his friends and family. He prided himself on the lifelong friendships he built and did his best to maintain them with frequent calls, letters and visits. Looking for ways to enrich the lives of others, Brandt directed fundraiser call campaigns for SchoolPower in Laguna Beach and volunteered extensively at Mercy House in Santa Ana, Calif., receiving a Santa Ana 2004 Community Building Award. He also volunteered for many an overnight shift at homeless shelters during his years in Illinois.
Brandt was preceded in death by his parents, Donna Marie Klingler and Clarence Ray Morrell. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Morrell, and his companion, Jeff Quinn; his daughters Kara (Ed) Malley, Kate (Tom) Patterson and Kelly Morrell; his sisters Kelly (Gary) Kuntz and Karin Morrell; his grandchildren Angela, Scott, Joseph, Dalton, Ethan, Julia and Madison; and his dogs Parker and Penny.
A memorial service will be held at O’Connor Mortuary, 25301 Alicia Parkway, Laguna Hills, CA 92653, at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 5. Should friends desire, contributions may be sent to http://mercyhouse.net/donate/.
16 responses to Brandt Kim Morrell
Lisa McPartland says:
June 10, 2015
One of my most cherished memories of Brandt was the day after Mark Tague passed on Dec. 5, 2011. Brandt must have come in super early to work and mysteriously hung over a dozen beautiful, large angels all around the office. He indeed “ushered the angels” into our world at Altec on that day of sadness. It was a simple,but bold act that brought many of us comfort and I believe shifted the atmosphere at Altec.
As I was praying the day after Brandt’s memorial service, I had a vision. Sometimes when I have an issue or question that I am wrestling with, the Lord gives me an answer with a visual response. I saw these same dozen beautiful angels now walking and hovering alongside Brandt in the sky. They were blowing trumpets and escorting Brandt towards an amazing cloud formation that I believe was the entrance into heaven. He was healthy and happy and dressed in a white three piece suit. This image brought a smile to my heart and gave me comfort. This is I believe a gift from God that I need to share.
I know Brandt’s greatest prayer was for his family to reconciled and reunited and this prayer was indeed answered this last year of his life. He so wanted to gather his family together and make new memories that would leave a legacy of love with his girls. That is much like our Heavenly Father wants to do with us to gather his family on earth for eternity in heaven. And that for sure is the greatest gift of all – it just needs to be opened. God Bless you all.
Frank Meinhold says:
June 19, 2015
I met Brandt in early March, for what turned out to be our last meeting. We had lunch at one of his favorite restaurants, King’s Fish House. I knew Brandt professionally for the past 17 years since Altec was a prominent business partner that I worked with. Brandt invited me to lunch to discuss my next steps and how he could help, since my position had been eliminated at the start of the year. This illustrates the kind of person Brandt was. He had empathy and took action to assist others to make things better. Throughout lunch the topics ranged from past events we could laugh about, to Altec’s future, and finally to friends and family. He shared with me in particular his Thanksgiving dinner gathering this past November. He spoke about the joy he had as he sat back to observe his family . . . to see everyone gathered, to see his daughters laughing with their spouses. I could see the glow of happiness in his face as he shared with me the contentment he felt to see and know that his family was happy and that each member had arrived at a good place in their life.
Contentment in life is so rarely achieved; but I believe that Brandt had arrived at his own place of contentment through his family’s happiness. He conveyed to me he had reached a point where he could look at his life with satisfaction. The knowledge of how he felt gives me solace in the midst of his all-to-early passing.
When I heard of Brandt’s passing, I reflected on our last conversation together and realized he had given me a gift in the form of conveying to me his contented perspective on his life and I wanted to pass this on to all of you in the hopes that it gives you some solace as well.
Blase Casillas says:
June 24, 2015
What a lovely tribute Lisa…I enjoyed reading it and it brought back so many wonderful memories of my time at Altec and over the years as I met and caught up with Brandt at shows. Brandt was both proud and humble, strong and nurturing and always, always kind to me. He shared his experience in living in Chicago when I considered and eventually relocated to Detroit. Brandt was particularly wonderful when we welcomed our son Alex into the world now 12 years ago. As recently as last year he asked how my wife Monica and son Alex were doing…beamed over pictures of how big my son had become and offered me sincere and heartfelt best wishes. What a lovely man. He shared memories of his sister the beauty queen and of his amazing, beautiful and wonderful daughters. I felt as though I knew them as he recounted trips to London. God bless him and bless you Lisa for all you do and continue to do in the name of Jesus. We are losing our friends on earth, but will see them again in heaven. Heartfelt hugs and best wishes to you! – Blase
Mary Lou Stone says:
September 23, 2015
I logged onto Facebook today to wish Brandt a happy birthday and learned of his passing. Wayne and I were stunned. We go back to the days of Phi Beta Lambda in the early 70s. And since he always took credit for getting us together, Brandt was our Best Man in 1978. We didn’t talk frequently, but I always left the phone call feeling like no time had passed at all. Our condolences to his family and friends. Brandt will be missed.
Wayne and Mary Lou Stone
Karin Morrell says:
October 12, 2018
Memories of our feisty and funny twinning childhood light my way through this strange time tunnel