Medford City Council honors memory of Bryan Hilliard
Musician and long-time Medford resident Bryan Hilliard was 55 when he died.
Medford City Council members Tuesday night remembered Bryan Hilliard, who died on July 3, as a giving musician who was devoted to his family and his community and who will be deeply missed.
At the beginning of the July 15 meeting, Councilor George Scarpelli introduced the following resolution:
“Be it Resolved that we offer our deepest and sincerest condolences to the family of Bryan ‘Deeb’ Hilliard. A fixture in our community for almost thirty years, Bryan was a uniquely talented trumpet player who turned his musical skills into a successful music booking agency, Occasional Brass and Strings. We offer our sympathies to Bryan’s wife Stacey, his children Duncan and Owen, his extended family and his many friends.”
Councilor Justin Tseng, who went to school with Hilliard’s son Duncan, said he wanted to recognize Hilliard’s “really wonderful life and legacy.” He noted that during this year’s Memorial Day observances at Oak Grove Cemetery, “Mr. Hilliard played some really beautiful, moving music.”
Councilor Emily Lazzaro is a member of the Medford Boat Club. She said Hilliard was a very active member of the club.
“On behalf of the Boat Club Community, he will be hugely missed,” she said. “It’s really a huge tragedy and I’m so sorry for his family and for the whole city.”
Councilor Matt Leming said, “This one hit kind of close to home for me because my dad, he’s a professional trumpet player.” He said he had wanted to get to know Hilliard better.
“So when I saw he passed away, it was a shock,” Leming said.
Winthrop Street resident Bill Giglio said via Zoom, “This is very deeply saddening. I met Bryan when our oldest boy started kindergarten.”
The Hilliards, he said, are a great family and he enjoys seeing them in the community.
“This is very heartbreaking,” he said.
Hilliard, whose full name was Donald Bryan Hilliard, was known as “Deeb.” He was 55 when he passed away.
Read his obituary at Dello Russo Family Funeral Homes. On YouTube, watch a clip of him playing trumpet.
