Brendon Gregory Guss

Brendon passed away unexpectedly on April 16, 2021.

Brendon was born in Tucson, Arizona, December 29, 1989, where he lived until he was 4 years old. He grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia. He attended Meriwether Lewis Elementary School, followed by Henley Middle School, and Murray High School. After high school, he worked at Best Buy and attended classes at Piedmont Community College. Eventually, he went to Ferrum College and then James Madison University, where he obtained a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science in 2017. He worked in Charlottesville at Commonwealth Computer Research for 3 years. He had recently moved to Richmond, Virginia, where he was working at Kinsale Insurance as a software engineer.

Brendon loved the outdoors and was active in scouting as a youth obtaining the rank of Eagle Scout. For his Eagle project, he and his troop members built a bridge in the nature area of our Ivy neighborhood. From a young age, Brendon loved gadgets and eventually computers. For his 13th birthday, he built his own desktop computer. This love of computers led to his career in programming.

Brendon had a striking sense of humor, often saying things that others would not. He made us laugh so much. He knew music from all genres exceptionally well. He was an exceptionally thoughtful gift giver, selecting items that the person would not have picked for themselves but were meaningful to them.
He loved to travel with his family. As a family, he went to Greece, France, Italy, Germany, and the Caribbean. He accompanied his mother on several international trips including Japan, France, and Portugal. He spent a month one summer travelling through Europe with his brother Taylor.

Brendon was diagnosed with autism at a very young age. He struggled with large social gatherings and most hugs. He had to overcome many challenges but successfully integrated into the public school system where he developed several fast friends. While his autism gave him challenges, it also gave him brilliance, a unique perspective on life, and a biting sense of humor. His challenges taught us compassion and tolerance.

He is survived by his mother, Jennifer Ann Harvey of Rochester, New York; his stepfather, Robert Grainger, of Charlottesville, Virginia; his father, Dominic Guss, of Mesa, Arizona; his brothers, Taylor Guss, Alexander Grainger, Benjamin Grainger, and Parker Guss, and his sister Aubrey Guss; his grandparents, Denis and Candi Martin; his grandmother, Marilyn LaRusso; and many aunts, uncles, and cousins who loved him very much.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Brendon's memory to the Virginia Institute of Autism at https://viacenters.org/support-via.