My mom, Tish Brennan, passed away on 12/22/22.

Here is her bio.

Tish was born, Letitia Mary Kelly, on March 18, 1945 to John Kelly and Letitia (Meehan) Kelly in Philadelphia. She was raised in the East Oak Lane section of Philadelphia. Tish was the second oldest in a large family. She had three sisters (Kathy, Mary, and Anne) and three brothers (John, Joseph, and Timothy). Tish and her six siblings attended Roman Catholic schools from 1st through 12th grade. During her early childhood, Tish enjoyed participating in a city 4-H Club that taught her how to be proficient at sewing. Tish had a unique way of seeing the world and became known not only for her sewing, but for her ability to paint beautiful landscapes and scenery. Tish had an entrepreneurial spirit. While in high school, Tish became known for her paintings of beautiful holiday pictures she created on the windows of local retail businesses. Her favorite time of year for doing so was at Christmas when she painted manger scenes with Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus. Some business owners loved her work so much they would leave her paintings on their windows for months into the new year. Tish graduated from Cardinal Dougherty High School in 1963. The following fall she enrolled at Drexel University. During her college years she interned for a children’s fashion company where she designed patterns. Tish earned a Bachelor of Science degree in fashion design and graduated with honors from Drexel University in1967. Tish found the fashion industry to be a “dog eat dog” business and turned her energy into the world of technology instead. Her first job out of college was teaching assembly language programming at the Institute of Computer Science in Philadelphia. On June 27, 1970, Tish married the luckiest man on the face of the earth, John “Jack” Brennan. They began their lives together in a small apartment in the Fox Chase area of Philadelphia before moving to a home in Northeast Philadelphia in 1971. Tish and Jack were blessed with two children, John Jr. and Melissa (Bergem). A job transfer opportunity with Jack’s employer, ARCO, moved the family from the Keystone State to the Golden State in 1980. Tish and Jack along with their kids settled in the small town of Newbury Park located in Ventura County. Through her volunteer work in her children’s elementary school and soccer teams, as well as her new parish, Tish immediately made friends with members of her new community. It was about this time that her entrepreneurial spirit kicked in again and she started her own business called Little Letty’s Lace designing and sewing crafts that she sold at boutiques and local gift shops. She also worked as an after school watercolor teacher through Conejo Valley Park and Recreation and took a position teaching art to 4th, 5th, and 6th graders at Manzanita Elementary School. Tish thoroughly enjoyed working with young children at the grade school level. Later, Tish answered an ad from The Braille Institute who were looking for a part-time Creative Arts Instructor for visually impaired Seniors. That part-time position turned into a 22-year full time career. Tish loved it and all the Seniors loved her. In 1985 Tish began taking watercolor classes with Katherine Chang Liu, president of the National Watercolor Society, through the Conejo Valley Arts Council, and studied under Barbara Sandifer. Surrounded by excellent artists Tish’s artwork flourished. In 2013 Tish moved from watercolor into digital art when she discovered painting on the iPad using Auryn Ink and other applications that simulate watercolor painting on the iPad. Tish has won awards over the years in various venues including the Ventura County Fair, which was only months ago. Tish’s artwork graces the walls of many homes here in California and back in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Arizona and Texas. In 2009 Tish became a grandmother to Jackson (Bergem) and shortly thereafter in 2010 to Dakota (Bergem). Tish loved spending time with her grandchildren. Whether it was playing board games, designing backdrops for Jackson’s stop motion animation, encouraging both Jackson and Dakota to create their own cartoons and storylines using the latest Toontastic apps, baking cookies and crafting gingerbread houses, or teaching Dakota how to sew, Tish loved keeping up with those kids and sharing her creativity. Tish kept an open heart and open home, and she loved mentoring others. In 2017, Tish and Jack made the decision to downsize and moved to a one-story condo in the Seabridge section of Oxnard. Once again Tish immediately made friends here. Her answer to living here was “she’s always on vacation.” Tish’s parents John Kelly and Letitia (Meehan) Kelly, brothers John Kelly and Joseph Kelly preceded her in death, but is survived by her husband, Jack, son, John Jr., daughter, Melissa (Bergem), son-in-law Jason Bergem, brother Timothy, and sisters Kathy (Senlick), Mary (LoCosale), and Anne (Woznicki) along with many nephews and nieces.