Brennan was an enthusiastic sophomore at St. Joseph’s in 1955 when he raised $120 in donations and bought a custom-made hawk costume so he could flap around at basketball games as the mascot.
Two St. Joe's students, junior Michael Sorochen and senior Matt Kirchgasser, are the current duo behind the Hawk mascot.
The St. Joe’s Hawk, with its red-and-black wings and open yellow beak, has become one of the most recognizable mascots in college basketball, and Mr. Brennan started the custom of constantly flapping its wings during games. “I didn’t want to be just a fan watching the game,” he told After St. Joseph’s, Mr. Brennan worked for a decade as an administrator at the Mary Lyon Nursing Home in Hampden, and then became director of community and public relations for Tacoma, Wash.-based Hillhaven and its 300-plus nursing homes in 33 states. For 30 years, from 1970 to 2001, he crisscrossed the country, visiting residents, staff, and family members at nursing homes in Washington, California, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, and elsewhere.
He arranged for married residents to live in the same room and championed Adopt-A-Resident programs that connected staff and residents on a more personal level. He encouraged bowling tournaments in the hallways and ponies as comfort animals. “He was known for bringing creativity and joy to nursing home residents,” his family said, “and transforming the public perception of nursing homes.”
Mr. Brennan loved to engage, and he did magic tricks, told jokes and riddles, and entertained with puppets. “He just gave love to everybody,” said his daughter Debby. “He was a genius.”
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