Amazing tribute to an amazing best friend (2023)

Introduction

Brent Wilkins
July 8, 1983 - December 9, 2017

Content

Let's gonna start with the funny quotes my friend Sammy Lee, not to belabor the point.

Bro I was attractive, but I thought it was funny quote: I always hated taking pretty picture standing next to Brent.

He was six five with model looked and a crooked smile.

That came straight from the heart.

You could go from feeling like Ryan Reynolds to Frank Reynolds in his presence.

I thought it was if I was applicable.

For those of you don't know me, my name is MJ early before Brett was the best man at my wedding.

He was my sweet maid.

My freshman year, Virginia Tech I, could fill probably two hours with just stories from 2002 Cochrane, but I know we don't have two hours so I'll try to keep it as as concise as I can for the next 15 years, or so it became great friends where some would call us.

Oh no Katie recently said this recently.

You know common-law spouses do to our propensity to always room together.

I'd also like to thank, obviously the Wilkins family, for giving me the opportunity to say a few words today about our friend.

You know, as I spent time this week, that's a look at on the crowd and see all the people that I've come to know over the last.

You know 15 years it is not lost on me how many of you I know directly because of Brett and a lot of my closest friends or because of Brett.

You know we hung out so much and you know without him.

You know my life would be completely different.

That people hang out with my wife, the friends I know that sort of thing you know so so you know sitting down to write this and you know the question kept coming over.

So you know how do you summarize a life or a friendship, and we experienced so much during 15 years, together from sneaking into bars at Virginia, Tech, sorry Trish, to driving in a 16 hours from Richmond to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl? You know we experienced a million things and how you how you distill all those moments into three or four paragraphs.

You know one of our friends Dan recently pointed out that Brentwood started every conversation with the question: hey brother.

What's the word, how you doing a strategy that is used by people that are usually well-liked, because it makes people feel good when they're around and that was Brett.

People want to be around what I'd like to focus on today, Lisa pars, my own healing, is the real Brent Wilkins, the Brett.

That would literally circle a parking lot for 45 minutes to try to find the perfect spot because he was not walking more than 100 feet to the door front door on the breath that at the age of 28 had a snack collection that be the envy of any kindergarten class complete with gushers shark bites and Oreos, and may God help you.

If, in a moment of weakness, he catches you trying to sneak one the breath out caught.

He dude was mv-1 and envy one is Michael Vick, for, though you don't know, was in d1 the best athlete on the planet.

What a freak or come up with an athletic hypothetical such as.

Do you think if you had a 10 by 10 room that you could touch Michael Vick once in the game, attack the Brent? They would step onto a diving board and make you wonder if he had legit Olympic potential with his ability to pull off midair stunts I mean it was incredible.

I've heard the first onslaught.

This is the side.

I have the straight down, but I mean literally he would get on a diving board.

You know I've known him for years and he pulled off some trick.

I'm like are you serious, like you just did.

That was incredible.

The front that when you called him, would take a second clear, his throat to build a drama, I didn't say boy yo.

You know just something something to get you to laugh.

We knew what's coming every time, but you know it didn't make it any less funny the Brent that once he found something he like would not deviate from it, whether it be a steak salad at ragtime, his favorite restaurant, his cargo camo shorts, his v-neck tennis or squash, depending on the year.

He liked what he liked, and that was it he loved wings from a specific place, and that's where you think once we're talking last night, he drove 45 minutes to Fredericksburg Virginia to get wings from Buffalo Wild Wings.

It's like okay man.

You know, there's like a million restaurants between here, but you know, that's what you want to do the breath that would pour over hours, Virginia Tech football YouTube highlights and laugh out loud at the athletic ability of all his favorite players, the Brent that was a terrible planner and once asked me a week before Brian and kikis wedding.

If I booked a hotel room, my wife and I had because you know the wedding was a week away and Brent, because all the rooms were sold out had to sleep on a cot in our room.

But yet, despite his inability to plan somehow managed to put together my entire bachelor party and the Brent that welcomed my wife, Kendall with open arms, when we first started dating and went as far as to invite her out to a bar with my friends when I was out of town for work, the printout asked dude each I hit up.

7-Eleven I need a Slurpee, and we then spent 30 minutes trying to pick out the perfect combination of food and, despite taking forever, would always walk out the exact same stuff: slim jims, individually-wrapped, sharp cheddar, cheese, airheads, pickles, swedish fish yoo-hoos and a quarter pounder hot dog.

You know the hot dogs in the 7-eleven case that no one eats Brent ate them.

That's incredible, the print that would challenge and destroy anyone who dared take him on at ping pong excuted ping pong by slamming literally anything you try to hit at them.

He was undefeated and the print that would hold court in the middle of our living room, adjust boxers and practice his forehand and backhand, and at our egging on recap, every single tennis players, personal strokes and a sauce brent was a big kid and a grown up body.

He didn't stress about anything because everything came easy to me.

He didn't need to.

He was the guy that walked into a room and everyone in it wanted to get to know him.

Myself included.

I always remember the first day that I met Brent moving into my dorm room with my parents and we stumble upon a half-naked, fresh shalosh, our print Wilkins, and you know wrapped in a towel white towel floss all over his face and I was thinking.

One of the speakers earlier said something about you know.

I was like man I had a picture.

I could have made a lot of money on this, but I was using a camera, not a picture, but in classic brick this hidden classic Brent.

He didn't even see the phase that we met him in this compromised position.

He extended his hand, bet pinky and all met my entire family, mom included and in that classic Brett wolken style gave us one of his passionate patented fish smiles and asked how you guys doing at that moment.

I knew I needed needed to get to this guy I'm, so grateful I was able to be a part of his life hot Brent, as he was affectionately known around Virginia Tech was a great person complicated, as we all are incredibly funny instantly, likeable athletic handsome and a genuinely good, morally sound person.

When you met him, he wasn't ever trying to be anything other than himself and he didn't need to be because being himself was more than enough, he had no ulterior motives.

He was never arrogant, despite the fact that he could walk into any bar in America and within minutes, without speaking, have at least two women vying for his attention.

I always thought I'd be giving a speech such as this when Brett finally met the woman of his dreams and a massively sad that I'm giving it to you now on this occasion, I'm going to miss him like hell, I'm, proud of him for taking a risk of doing what he thought was right and I'm absolutely devastated by how it ended.

I'm sad that we never made my kids good, have a wild uncle Brent and his ability to relate to them.

But his legacy will live on through me and them, and all of us and my kids will learn about him in his enormous heart and his ability to above all, be a good person.

He'll become part legend in my house, because that's exactly what he was a larger-than-life legend know at the end of the day, just craved a big comfortable bed that you did have to share it to anybody, but it never compromised and did everything his own way.

I hope that some good can come up with untimely passing for me would be the need of choosing.

For me, it would be that I need to let the small stuff go.

I need to focus on all the blessings that I have in my life and be willing to love everyone.

That's what Brent would have wanted.

I love all of you for coming, take care of each other hug.

Each other tell people you love them and never forget.

There are so many people out there that love.

It only wants the best for each and every one of you.

So many people love Brent and if he didn't know that now I sure hope you you think he doesn't know it that I sure hope he knows it now.

I'm gonna miss you brother, I love.

You go homes.