Brady McDermott

BRADY MCDERMOTT

Monticello

Brady Michael McDermott lived his life full tilt and loved the people he shared it with fiercely. He died suddenly Saturday afternoon, April 11, 2015. He was 30. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, April 16, at the Peace Church in Monticello, with interment in the Oakwood Cemetery. Pastors Mike Cleeton, Al Polito, Ed Moreano and Jean Sullivan will officiate at the services. Friends may call after 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Goettsch Funeral Home, Monticello.

Thoughts, memories and condolences may be left at www.Goettschonline.com.

Brady was born March 2, 1985, in Anamosa, and was living in Cedar Rapids at the time of his passing. He grew up in Monticello, the son of Denny and Debbie (Ditch) McDermott and remained closely connected to the community all his life. He graduated from Monticello High School, where he starred in baseball, football, basketball, choral singing and occasional car crashes. He was a shortstop, a point guard and a quarterback – at just shy of six feet tall, he was often considered undersized as a quarterback, but never faint of heart in this or any other field of his life. He later studied at Kirkwood Community College. Since 2008, he worked as a construction worker for Kelly Concrete in Marion, where he eventually became foreman.

The pride of his life was his son, Collin Michael McDermott, a 5-year-old boy who shares his father's blonde hair, blue eyes and indefatigably playful spirit. "This kid makes my heart melt," he wrote under a photograph of Collin on a Facebook post April 6. "I seriously feel like the luckiest dude in the world." His younger sister, Megan McDermott, said that in fatherhood Brady had found his deepest calling. "He was just so much fun to be around," she said. "There are not many people who can just enjoy life like he did and watching him be a dad was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. He did it the way he lived, he just loved Collin with everything he had."

Last year, he met Haley Fernandez. His friends and family believe he'd found the love of his life. Brady, Collin and Haley quickly formed a tight bond together. "Every night, he'd put his arms around us and say, 'Is it family snuggle time yet?' " Fernandez recalled. "And he loved to wrestle around with Collin. Brady came up with this move he called "The Daddy Smash."

"He was the ultimate dad. Before anything, Collin was his best friend and he was Collin's best friend."

Lifelong friend Mike Wennekamp remembered Brady as the guy who would bring a spark to any situation. "He was the one who got everyone dancing at the bar, doing a crazy, I don't know what you'd call it, type of dance," he said. "I thought he was walking like a penguin, but it was his little dance move and we all got a kick out of it. He liked putting smiles on people's faces."

His close friend and sometimes coworker Clay Duncan said Brady approached work much like he did the rest of life, all in. He'd frequently show up at the job site by 6:15 a.m., before everyone else, and was willing and very able to do every aspect of the work. "He was an animal," Clay said. "Strong as an ox. He'd do anything."

Among his enduring passions were baseball, music, muffins (especially those made by his older sister, Kellie McDermott), and the Great Jones County Fair, the latter of which friends frequently heard him shouting about in his role as ringleader, "Five best days of summer!"

Duncan remembered one such summer day. They were at work and Brady calmly walked up to him and showed him his hand, which he'd just smashed between a trailer and a truck. "I just broke my hand," he said. Brady wanted to keep it hidden from their boss, so he told his friend, "Fix it!" "Half a first aid kit and three hours later, Brady has a hole in his hand duct-taped up, but the show must go on," Duncan said. "Five best days of summer!" He says. "Give me a beer, Duncan. Let's go out on the river."

Surviving Brady McDermott are his parents and biggest fans, Denny and Debbie McDermott, Monticello; sister, Kellie McDermott, Monticello; sister, Megan McDermott, Des Moines; son, Collin Michael McDermott, Cedar Rapids; adoring nieces, Stella and Scarlett; grandfather, Arlan Ditch; and loving uncles, aunts and first cousins.