Greenfield remembers 14-year-old ‘Bright Side Brandon’

GREENFIELD — On the morning of March 9, Sean Hoyt walked into his son Brandon Hoyt’s bedroom to wake him up for school, only to experience every parent’s worst nightmare — his 14-year-old son died unexpectedly in his sleep.

In the days and weeks that followed the teenager’s death, the community — both at Greenfield Middle School and in Greenfield at large — has gathered to support the Hoyt family and remember Brandon as an avid reader, a gentle and kind-hearted boy, star student, and a beacon of light and laughter for those who knew him.

“We always called him ‘Bright Side Brandon,’ because he was always looking on the bright side. If it snowed 2 inches, he’d say, ‘At least it didn’t snow 2 feet,’ or if you stubbed your toes, it was just one toe, not three of them,” Sean Hoyt said. “No matter what, he would always look for the positive side of things, even when things were not great.”

Brandon, who lived with controlled epilepsy, is believed to have died from the rare occurrence of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), which refers to the premature death of a person with epilepsy, often during or immediately after a seizure without an obvious cause, his family says.

In the weeks since Brandon’s death, community members have raised more than $35,634 for the Hoyt family through a GoFundMe. The teen’s parents, Sean and Regina, said they are grateful for the outpouring of support, and they have used the money to help cover the costs of grief counseling and time off of work. Brandon also leaves behind his 11-year-old sister Joanna.

The School Committee and City Council both held moments of silence for Brandon Hoyt at their respective meetings. To commemorate Brandon, who his parents said loved the Recreation Department’s after-school program, the Recreation Department plans to install a bench or plant a shade tree.

Regina Hoyt noted that the middle school has plans to establish a Little Free Library filled with her son’s favorite books. The Greenfield Public Library — a place that Brandon frequented — had reached out suggesting a similar commemoration. The Discovery School at Four Corners also plans to dedicate a bench in its library to Brandon and construct a Little Free Library, according to fourth grade teacher Marguerite Rancourt.

Walking through the Hoyt home, Regina and Sean pointed out that Brandon’s room, preserved in its clean and organized state with books arranged neatly by series, toy soldiers displayed in a tidy formation and plush toys spread out across the bed, was atypically well-maintained for that of a 14-year-old boy.

“He was very much a homebody. He loved to be home; he loved to be comfortable in his pajamas. We would get home from school, and we’d all be hanging up our coats and kids hanging up their backpacks, and he would just appear in his pajamas,” Regina Hoyt said. “He just always loved being home in his pajamas with a book and that blanket that we just got him for Christmas.”

In the weeks following Brandon Hoyt’s death, his absence in class was felt deeply by his classmates, who decorated his locker with an array of thoughtful notes and messages, as well as his teachers, who remember Brandon as a silly, happy-go-lucky, straight-A student who was revered by his classmates.

Ashley Winn, Brandon’s English language arts teacher, referred to him as a “ray of sunshine” in the classroom. She added that his desk in her class has been reserved for him.

“He would always kind of find a way to see the good side of everything. He was a very sweet, positive, helpful kid. He’s one of those kids that you could partner with literally anyone in the classroom, and he would get along with them and he would help them out,” Winn said. “He was really a one-of-a-kind, wonderful, sweet, caring, hilarious kid, and his loss is really felt every day and will continue to be.”

Despite having struggled with dyslexia, reading was one of Brandon’s characteristic hobbies, Winn said, recalling a time when the teenager brought a book to the school dance or his tendency to find the best shaded spot at the Rec Center to sit and read.

Rancourt, who taught Brandon when he no longer needed specialists to help him with reading, also described the boy as gentle, kind and intelligent. She said in the time that she taught Brandon, she watched him “come out of his shell,” and become much more social with his peers.

“I don’t think I’ve ever met a kid like him — just genuinely sweet and kind and thoughtful. He was pretty quiet when I first met him. He really blossomed in fourth grade — he no longer needed special teachers to help him read and he was really proud of that,” Rancourt said. “I think a lot about how I regret asking him to stop doing his amazing doodles on his schoolwork. … He would have these little knights in shining armor having funny conversations on the side of his work. They were really clever, and now I’m thinking that I should have just let him doodle to his heart’s content.”

Brandon’s first grade teacher Maureen Barisano echoed the remarks of her colleagues, expressing her condolences for the loss of a boy who she described as goofy, smart, and filled with joy and kindness. She noted that although he struggled to read, he managed to turn what used to be a hurdle into a passion.

“He was a very, very sweet, very kind little boy. He liked to be silly a lot — I just remember he would get into little giggling fits in school. He was just always happy, you know. He always had a little smile on his face. And all his classmates really liked him,” Barisano said. “He was well-liked and he worked really hard. He never gave up.”