Warren Brand

April 3rd, 2023

I met Warren at a conference in late 2018, we were introduced by a mutual friend, Ada Nielsen. Warren and I hit it off. We had a lot in common, Jewish, lived in Skokie, our daughters (me =2) were similar ages and we were independent consultants. We got together for lunch and coffee a couple of times. I really enjoyed Warren’s company and looked forward to seeing him more often, then COVID. I wish I would have spent more time with him as we definitely had a lot in common, he was a great guy and our friendship was enriching.

This is a terrible loss and my heart and soul go out to you. I was in Israel when he passed, so my apologies for the delay in expressing my sincere condolences. May his memory only be for a blessing.

~Sanford Wolgel
~Friend, Skokie, IL

March 20th, 2023

Dearest Michelle:

I am feeling so blessed to have ironically shared a dinner and table with you and Warren only a few weeks before his tragic passing.

I only just heard of your loss and am basically speechless.

It was clear to me, just spending that short period of time with the two
of you ,how deeply he loved you and you him . Your marriage has been a long and wonderful one with so many experiences to remember . The three girls are amazing and he beamed with joy when mentioning them.

You are a kind and lovely person and this is beyond unfair to have happened. My prayers and wishes are that somehow your beautiful life together will provide peace to you and the girls during this extremely difficult time.

I am sorry for your loss. God Bless you all.

❤️Judy Kaufman

~Judy Kaufman
~neighbor, skokie,illinois

February 28th, 2023

Warren is/was one of a kind. EXTREMELY devoted to his wife and kids but also to his friends. I have been the lucky recipient of Warren’s benevolent friendship. I have SO MANY Warren stories, but of course the one that goes down in infamy is our BEAR STORY. I know Michelle and the girls seeing this will chuckle. Warren and I went on a camping trip – the year must’ve been 1987? Something like that. I had been ill and was feeling wobbly emotionally. My boyfriend, Warren’s college roommate Philip, was out of town. So Warren had the great idea that we should go camping in the wilderness of the Southern California mountains. My fear of encountering a wild animal was waved away by Warren. “That NEVER happens! We should be So LUCKY that it would happen.” Yeah, well. We climbed up a mountain, lugging our equipment, for several hours, looking for a campsite that we couldn’t find. We were lost. Night was falling. This was not the trip to bring me ease. We set up our tent and ate our dinner: freeze dried something or other. As gross as it was to me, it must’ve smelled good to someone else, because sure enough, as we were cleaning up, a bear (granted it was an adolescent bear – but those are the most dangerous kinds because mama bear may be lurking) came up to us, his nose in the air, sniffing and advancing VERY CLOSE to us. I told Warren LET’S GO! He said no, we needed to roar and throw stones at its feet. Make ourselves BIG. So we did that. Roar. Roar. Roar. He told me to look for a camera. I tried to as I was trying just as hard not to panic. FINALLY after many minutes, the bear lumbered off. Warren thought this was GREAT! I thought this was TERRIBLE! I said Let’s get the hell out of here! He said, what for? I said: That bear may come back! I pleaded with him. Told him I’d give him 100 dollars if he’d leave, something like that. Needless to say we packed up and RACED down that mountain, making it down to our car in about 45 minutes. He laughed, thought the whole thing was great fun, tho he was also compassionate about my worry and general distress. Let’s just say, Warren and I stayed great friends but I never went camping in the wilderness again! 🙂 I will miss my dear friend.

~Linda Burstyn
~Friend, Los Angeles

February 28th, 2023

Dear Michelle,
My sincere condolences and love to you, your daughters, family and friends.
Your loss is monumental. I am heartbroken for you. Sending you prayers for peace.

Jill Fink

~Jill Fink

February 28th, 2023

What a beautiful tribute the Brand girls gave to their Dad. Summing up stories I have heard throughout the years about an incredibly special man who was lost way too soon. Wishing Michelle and family strength and comfort as you navigate this terrible loss.

~Kathy Shorr
~, Northbrook, IL

February 27th, 2023

Warren loves his girls fully and unconditionally and was very involved in all of their activities and accomplishments. He and Michelle did an incredible job of encouraging and supporting their children. Their nurturing and loving parenting style led to all 3 girls being sweet, caring, intelligent and extremely driven and successful. Warren avoided preaching to his children, and he definitely had more of a consultative approach to parenting and dealing with issues. Undoubtedly, Warren’s marriage and family was his greatest success in life.

Warren also loves his toys, and his car was one of his favorite toys. On the day he picked up his new car, he texted to see if he could stop by my work to show me the car. He took me on a test drive, and Warren was so excited to try out all the features of the car. He would text me screen shots of the features he learned about and the incredible charging speeds he would get from superchargers when he would go on long distance trips. Super fun to have that interest in common with Warren.

As the host for many Passover seders, Warren would dress up as Moses for his role as Seder service leader. He tried to make Passover fun for the kids and it’s definitely a memory that all of the kids (and adults) will have forever. Family holidays and get togethers will be missing a key participant. The sense of loss will be incredibly difficult to adjust to for the entire family.

The shock and randomness of this tragedy is impossible to make any sense out of. It is a true test of family strength and ability to love and support each other.

~Jeff Callen
~Cousin, Buffalo Grove