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1949
2017
In the Fall of 1963, Joyce and Geoffrey P. McBreen, Sr. headed west in a Ford Country Squire station wagon with their six children in tow, stopping just short of the Pacific Ocean in Malibu, California.
Geoff, Jr., the oldest of the McBreen clan, who was destined to become the most liberal of the McBreen children, was born on February 8, 1949 in New York, New York.
Geoff attend high school at St. Monica's in Santa Monica, California, where he first began to question the tenets of the Catholic religion of his Irish forefathers. Geoff cemented his liberal credentials while obtaining a B.A. in English at the University of California, Los Angeles. Geoff was incredibly proud of the fact that he was one of the very few UCLA students granted Conscientious Objector status during the Vietnam War. Geoff's politics were always just a little left of radical, leavened with kindness.
After graduating from college, Geoff embarked on a two year odyssey around the world, visiting exotic locales in the Far East and Europe. While traveling across New Zealand, Geoff acquired both a new found knowledge of the Kiwi culture and a beautiful English fellow traveler, Susan Crowther, who, in a rare nod to convention, he married in Lancashire, England on January 10, 1976.
Upon returning to the United States, Geoff and Sue initially made their home in Southern California. Following in a long family tradition, Geoff pursued a career in bartending. While behind the bar, Geoff honed his skills in another family tradition, that of master storyteller.
Geoff and Sue eventually followed their lifelong best friends, Keith and Ginny Fogg, to the Monterey Peninsula where Geoff became the Food and Beverage Manager at the Doubletree Hotel and later the Banquet Manager at Rancho Canada Country Club. Despite climbing the corporate ladder, Geoff always maintained bartending (and storytelling) were his favorite occupations.
Geoff was an accomplished endurance athlete, completing the Ironman Triathlon in Kona, Hawaii, numerous marathons and many long distance bike races, including the Davis Double. Geoff also was a skilled scuba diver, skier, expert wind surfer and lousy golfer.
In 2008, Geoff was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Geoff fought his illness with grace, tenacity and courage, undergoing a double lung transplant in 2014. Geoff died at home, surrounded by his family, on May 23, 2017.
Geoff is survived by his beloved wife, Sue; his devoted son, Miles; Peter, Brian and Brendan, the brothers who always looked up to him; his mother-in-law, Amy; his sisters-in-law, Nicki, Georgette, Jeanne and Jane; his brothers-in-law, Simon and John and too many nephews and nieces to mention. Geoff's parents, brother, Sean and sister, Mary Jo, beat him to the finish line.
Rest in peace Geoffrey Bon Bons, near green grass and running water. And not to worry, we are already embellishing your stories. If, to your surprise, there is a God, take the news graciously and try not to start too much trouble in heaven!
At Geoff's request, there will be no public memorial service although his family and friends intend to have a wild party in his honor. Geoff's ashes will be scattered off the Malibu Coast. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to a liberal charity of your choice.
Arrangements under the direction of The Paul Mortuary, Pacific Grove, CA.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Sponsored by The Paul Mortuary.
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