Brian Ray Baltau
Dec. 9, 1979 – Oct. 16, 2015
Brian Ray Baltau died of acute cardiac arrest in his sleep on Friday, Oct. 16. He was 35. Brian was not married and had no children. He was a dedicated and much-loved uncle, brother and son.
Brian was born 9 weeks early in 1979. He was supposed to arrive in February but made a guest appearance before Christmas. We were surprised but thankful.
He was 2 pounds, 8 ounces and 17 inches long. Such a tiny little miracle. Our dad could hold him in the palm of his hand. Brian was given a 10 percent chance to live at birth. He spent 4 weeks in the neo-natal intensive care unit, finally getting his discharge papers when he weighed in at 4.5 pounds.
Eventually Brian would be more than 6 feet tall and wear a size 14-15 shoe. He was a big miracle.
Brian loved movies, hockey, comic books, graphic novels and so much more. He was like a kid in a candy store when it came time to pick out fireworks for the 4th of July. He was our Director of Pyrotechnics every Independence Day. He found such joy in our reactions to the “show” he planned out each year. His nephew Neil was his faithful assistant. Brian enjoyed bowling until sidelined by shoulder surgery.
Brian was an avid gamer and made friends throughout the world through teams and games he participated in. He took it hard when a longtime favorite game was shut down.
He made us laugh, played jokes and took a joke well. He loved to tease. He could find the smallest thing that made him think of you and he would share it. He loved Batman. Every nephew and his niece had Batman costumes, shirts, hats, etc. He tortured his nephews with his Easter Egg hiding skills. He could be counted on to carve lots of pumpkins and have the best candy for trick-or-treaters. He played a mean game of HORSE. He was an incredible ping pong player. He hated to lose. His nephews loved to play video games with him. Brian had just bought a new hockey video game that he planned to practice at before letting his nephews play. He was hoping he could win at least initially.
He worked in the aerospace manufacturing industry for 17 years.
Brian is survived by his mother, his sister and two brothers, as well as three beloved nephews and a beautiful niece.
He will be sorely missed.
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It's only been a day and we miss you already bro.
