Brian David Findley

Findley, Brian David age 43 of Westland. Cherished son of Bess and Fred Fenech and the late David. Loving brother of Sheryl (William) Broslat, Denise (Rich) Jamieson, Gary (Melissa) Fenech and Stephanie (the late Donald) MacLean. Proud uncle of Marissa, Brandon, Dominick, Dylan, Natasha and Victoria. Also survived by many other loving family and friends.

Memorial Gathering Thursday, March 8th from 4pm to 8pm at Fred Wood Funeral Home Rice Chapel, 36100 Five Mile Rd. (E. of Levan) Livonia.

Memorial Mass 10:30am Friday, March 9th at St. Edith Catholic Church 15089 Newburgh Rd. (S. of Five Mile) Livonia

Brian loved working with his hands and dreamt of one day building handmade furniture out of his own woodworking shop.  In late 2015 he rented a storage unit and outfitted it to do just that and began doing custom work by word of mouth.  If anyone has ever seen his work, you knew what a talent he had.  He didn’t need blueprints or instructions—all you had to do was show him a picture and say I want “this” or explain what you wanted and he’d figure out how to make it for you.  Working with his hands gave him such peace.  And you could see the pride in his eyes as he showed you what he was working on. 

He was a journeyman carpenter by trade and worked for several big and small construction companies including Tuff Shed.   He was a hard worker showing up early to the job to get the day’s work lined up.  Recently he had been working with John (a contractor) assembling Tuff Sheds on site.

Not only did he have a flair for woodworking, but drawing too.  He was a doodler and would sketch all kinds of stuff.  He even designed his own tattoos.

His creativity carried over to cooking as well.  Over the years he worked as a sous chef at Slows Bar Bq and Vinsetta Garage.  He would get excited telling you about the mouthwatering creations he cooked up both at work and at home.

He was an avid reader of all sorts of topics and couldn’t wait to tell you about the latest book he read.  And he was also quick to recommend books based on what he knew you liked to read too.

Brian’s first love was hockey.  He started playing as a mini mite out of Livonia.   He was a defenseman, #3.  He was captain or assistant captain of many of the teams he played on.  He continued to play for Livonia Churchill High School and occasionally would play drop-in hockey as an adult.

His smile and friendly personality were like a magnet drawing people to him.  He would stop and take time to say hello to strangers and ask how their day was.  If he could do anything to help you he would including giving you the last dollar he had.

His smile and laugh were bigger than life.  So was his heart.  A genuine person who cared about others more than himself.   To quote a dear friend, “He was a good person who couldn’t see the good in himself.”  For all these reasons, he made his parents proud to say, “He’s my son.”

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Brian David Findley, please visit our floral store.