Brian M. Race

MELBOURNE, Australia — Brian M. Race, 32, of Melbourne, Australia, passed away on April 5, 2019.

Brian was born in Auburn, N.Y., and attended Weedsport Jr. Sr. High School.

Brian is the son of Francine Race (Smelski) and predeceased by his father, Mark Race. He is survived by his fiancée, Meg Gallagher, of Melbourne, Australia; sister, Rebecca Hamilton (husband) James Hamilton; nephews, Mark and Austin Hamilton; in-laws and several aunts, uncles, cousins, and countless friends from around the world he considered to be family.

After high school he was a volunteer fireman and EMT for Sennett Volunteer Fire Department. Brian then began working for marine conservation group Sea Shepherd Global as a volunteer in 2009 on their Antarctic Anti-Whaling Campaign. After several more campaigns as chief engineer he became the organization’s technical superintendent, managing the organization’s world-wide fleet of ships. While he was a gifted engineer his true loves lie on land, Brian and Meg belonged to multiple bands in Australia where Brian played the drums; they loved creating music and going to shows. While Brian and Meg did not have children, they loved devoting themselves to their family of rescued “fur children,” Mahoney, Rogue and Bean. Brian loved figuring out how things worked; he had a talent for taking just about anything that was broken and fixing it; he also loved grilling, and got great pleasure from helping others, whether humans or animals.

A remembrance memorial for Brian will be from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 11, 2019, at Green Lakes State Park, 7900 Green Lakes Road, Fayetteville, NY 13066, in the old administration building. This will be a celebration in true Brian fashion with fabulous catered vegan delicacies, delectable non-alcoholic libations, and all are invited to don their finest flannel. We ask that everyone respect the vegan and non-alcoholic wishes as these values were of particular importance in his life.

Brian was an avid animal rights activist and environmentalist, keeping that in mind we ask in lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Brian may be made to the following organizations:

Wildlife Defense League - www.wildlifedefenceleague.org

Woodstock Farm Sanctuary - http://woodstocksanctuary.org

To send condolences to Brian’s family, go to whitechapelfh.com. 

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