Friends Rally To Aid Family Of Brick EMT

Friends who rallied to assist a Brick Township EMT who was battling cancer are rallying once more -- this time to help his family.

Bryan Owen lost his battle with cancer on Oct. 26, according to his obituary on the Weatherhead-Young Funeral Home website. He was 56.

Much of Owen’s life was spent working and volunteering in emergency service. He had been a member of the Brick Township Police EMS since 2006, volunteered with the Tri-Boro First Aid Squad in Seaside Park, was a life member of the Breton Woods Fire Company in Brick and a member of the Brick Volunteer First Aid Squad, where he served as captain for eight years. Before he and his family moved to Brick in 1988, Owen was a former West Paterson volunteer firefighter and a member of its first aid squad, where he served as trustee and vice president, for 11 years.

But 18 months ago he was diagnosed with cancer, said Kelly Gaffney, a family friend and longtime neighbor. Owen underwent several extensive rounds of treatment that, like most cancer treatments, resulted in a significant financial burden, she said. A GoFundme campaign she established aims to help Owen’s wife, Brenda, cover some of those expenses.

“I live down the street from Bryan and our families have been neighbors for almost 30 years now,” Gaffney said. I know he was a great man who did a lot for our community and they are a great family.”

Owen was born in Montclair and lived in Woodland Park before moving to Brick Township. He had worked in the manufacturing industry before moving to the Jersey Shore to pursue a career in public service, which he loved.

Owen is surviving is his wife, Brenda; a son, Thomas Sr. and his wife Danielle of Brick; two daughters, Janelle Loftus and husband Keith of Brick, and Sarah Owen of Brick, and grandchildren Thomas Jr., Anthony, and granddaughter on the way, Emma. Owen also is survived by his brother, Wayne, of Lake Stockholm, N.J., and his sister Wendy and her husband Lester of Woodland Park, and his father-in-law, Joseph Daleo of Pompton Plains.

“They really need some support,” Gaffney said of Owen’s family.

Click here to donate to the fundraiser. All of the money will go directly to his wife, Brenda, Gaffney said.

(Photo courtesy of Kelly Gaffney)