A lifetime Philadelphia resident, Brennan was a graduate of Roman Catholic High School, St. Joseph's University, and the Howard E. Dolan College of Mortuary Science. Shortly after receiving his professional license, he served in the Korean War, first as an infantryman, where he won the Combat Infantry Badge. Later he was assigned as an Identification Specialist for the Central Identification Unit of the American Graves Registration in Japan. His task was to identify the remains of American soldiers killed in action. Simultaneously he served as an assistant to a pathologist studying fatal wounds. This work resulted in the design of the battle vest worn by those who would serve in the Vietnam War.

Upon returning from Japan to the US, Brennan opened his first funeral home in Philadelphia in 1959, the Joseph F. Brennan Funeral Home. During these years, he became a certified Eye Enucleator, harvesting donor eyes for living recipients in need of a corneal transplant. This volunteer work for the Lions Eye Bank of the Delaware Valley "Gift of Sight" program was the work he considered the most valuable work of his 60-year career .

He became interested in his Philadelphia community, Fairmount, as well as its future. He co- founded the Fairmount Parents, Business and Neighbors Association, of FBPNA, serving as its first president. The organization remains today, known as the Fairmount Civic Association. He was also chairman of the first Model Cities Program in Philadelphia, a federal urban renewal program initiated in 1966.

An avid oarsman and member of the Fairmount Boat Club, he won several championship races. He went on to coach several area school crew teams, Monsignor Bonner High School, St. Joseph Prep, Mount St. Joseph Academy and St. Joseph University to name a few. In his early coaching career, seeing a need for more racing competition, he co-founded the Manny Flick Regatta, which has become a premier high school crew event on the Schuylkill River, now host to hundreds of crew teams from several states.

Throughout his life, he remained passionate to the cause of St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

He is survived by is wife, Claire Muldowney Brennan, his daughters Claire Brennan Sereni, and Judith Brennan Thompson , and his four grandchildren, Leigh Gregory, Kyle Thompson, Tyler Thompson and Jacqueline Sereni.

Visitation will be on Friday, Feb. 19, 2010 at 9:30am at St. Francis Xavier Church, 24th and Wallace Streets, Philadelphia, Pa. with Mass following at 11:30am. Interment will be at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pa.

Donations can be made in his honor to:

St. Jude's Children's Reasearch Hospital 501 St. Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105 www.stjude.org/tribute 800-873-6983

St. Francis Xavier School 24th and Wallace Streets Philadelphia, PA 19130 215-763-6564

Lions Eye Bank of the Delaware Valley 401 N. 3rd St. Suite 305 Philadelphia, PA 19123 info@lbdv.org