Cornerstone recently suffered a tremendous loss with the death of our friend and coworker, Bryan Flint, Sr. Bryan had worked here for over 11 years, the last four as the Deputy Director.
On the day of his wake over 1500 people came to pay their respects to his family. Almost everyone said that Bryan had helped them in some way or touched them through his life as an entertainer, an entrepreneur, or at Cornerstone. Bryan was also a strong member of the Church of the Nazarene and his faith was a driving force in his life.
At Cornerstone, Bryan was a ball of energy. He was always on the go, looking for a way to solve a problem for someone or to fix one of our buildings here. He was constantly thinking of ways we could help more people. If we had as many dollars as Bryan had ideas, we would have eliminated poverty in Tolland County. Bryan was a big thinker.
I first met Bryan when I worked at the Rockville Public Library. Bryan was generally the closing act of our Children’s Summer Reading Program. The room was always packed with kids and parents and Bryan had them laughing at his jokes, oohing at his magic tricks, and playing along to make the magic happen. He had a child’s heart full of joy during those events.
There have been many offers of help from businesses and organizations all over the area. People have donated in his memory both financially and by volunteering, having drives for goods and services and offering prayers. I think one of the legacies that Bryan would want is that everyone does what they can to help people just as he always did. It doesn’t have to be big…be kind, listen to people who need a sympathetic ear, offer a hug, forgive someone who hurt you. To paraphrase a common saying “What would Bryan do?”
Bryan will be greatly missed by all of here at Cornerstone, but his memory will live on.
Sharon Redfern
Executive Director