Kelly J. Brisbin

Kelly James Brisbin, age 72, of Flint, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, October 10, 2023. Visitation will be held at 12pm until the time of the funeral service at 2:30pm on Saturday, October 14, 2023, at Sharp Funeral Home - Miller Road Chapel, 8138 Miller Road in Swartz Creek. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Kelly’s name to either the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan at https://www.fbem.org/ or The Nature Conservancy at https://preserve.nature.org/. Online condolences can be shared at www.sharpfuneralhomes.com.

 

Kelly was born on March 8, 1951, to the late Marvin and Mary Brisbin in Flint, Michigan. He graduated in 1969 from Flint Southwestern High School and served in the US Army from 1971-1973. He married the love of his life, Ellen Hoelzle, in Flint on August 18, 1973, and they went on to have two children, the pride and joy of their lives, Leslie and Nick. Kelly retired from Macomb in 2017, where he worked in industrial sales.

 

Kelly was an active man his whole life. He enjoyed both playing and following sports, and he was an avid U of M and Detroit sports fan. He enjoyed attending games in person, but his favorite was watching from the comfort of his La-Z-Boy. Over the years, he played many recreational sports: basketball, softball, blooper ball, pool, and golf leagues, and most recently, ping-pong. He loved golf and played as often as he could. Coaching youth little league and basketball was something he thoroughly enjoyed. 

 

Kelly took pleasure in all things outdoors – being in nature brought him great peace. He took pride in his many flower gardens and enjoyed feeding and watching the birds while chasing the thieving squirrels away. He was passionate about music – he loved classic rock, southern rock, jazz, blues, and Motown, and he had an unrivaled collection of vinyl and CDs supporting this love. It was a long-standing tradition to vacation in a beachfront home on one of the Great Lakes for a week every summer as a family, when Leslie and Nick were children, and later, for just Ellen and him. Some of his favorite places in Michigan were the Upper Peninsula (especially the US-2 area), the northwest portion of the lower peninsula, any Great Lakes beach, golf courses, Flint, and anywhere he could catch live music.

 

Kelly was a progressive thinker and believed in helping others and preserving our environment – just a few of the many organizations he supported are: The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, Michigan Audubon, Flint Institute of Arts, Habitat for Humanity, The Nature Conservancy, Carriage Town Ministries - Flint, Clean Water Action, and National Wildlife Federation. He was a proud lifelong resident of Flint. He adored his grandsons and all their shenanigans – laughter abounded whenever they were together. 

 

Above all, Kelly will be remembered for his big heart, his love for Ellen, and determination and passion for the things that he believed in. He was taken from this world too soon and will be missed beyond words by all who knew him.

 

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Ellen Brisbin; his two children, Leslie (Brian) Grappin, and Nicholas (Jacqueline) Brisbin; his three grandsons, Kaeto Grappin, Titus Grappin, and Bodhi Grappin; his brother, Marvin “Don” (Rita) Brisbin; three sisters-in-law, Wendy (Rick) Whitson, Nancy (Ray) Sinclair, and Katie (Bill) Griffin; nieces and nephews, Meredith, Mark, Emily, Aaron, and Brooke; and a multitude of friends.