Brent Allen Upton

On March 17, 2021 Brent Allen Upton, loving husband and father, passed away at the age of 38 after a valiant, lengthy battle with cancer. Brent was born on December 15, 1982 in Raleigh, North Carolina to Bruce and Melanie Upton. He was a proud graduate of North Carolina State University and a true, lifelong Wolfpack fan. He served as a firefighter with the Raleigh Fire Department for 12 years and proudly earned the rank of lieutenant. While with the department, he also served on the Hazmat Team. Of the many calls he responded to, he was the most proud of the two code saves he was a part of. Upon his medical retirement, the aspect he missed the most was the camaraderie with his crew shared in the firehouse.

Brent married Catherine in May of 2013. Brent and Catherine spent their time together traveling the world, attending Carolina Hurricanes games, and simply enjoying one another’s company. He welcomed his beloved daughter, Ella Marie in January of 2016. Brent was a nurturing and ever-present father. He was always teaching Ella to love the fun things in life: being silly, making faces, wrestling, jamming out to all types of music. He made sure there was time for daddy daughter outings for ice cream, donuts, and the park. Brent will be remembered for many things, but being a dedicated father and husband was his greatest accomplishment. Anyone who was lucky enough to witness his time with Catherine and Ella could easily see the love he had for them. His family was his top priority.

Brent had a wide range of interests that spanned from professional wrestling, playing video games, watching horror movies, and visiting haunted houses to catching a show at DPAC, reading, and doing puzzles. In a similar manner he had a deep love of music that ran through all genres from heavy metal to Buffet to the Beatles to his favorite, Sevendust. Brent was always planning his next trip. In his short life he was able to swim with dolphins and feed sharks and even helicopter to the top of a glacier to go dog sledding. Those lucky enough to travel with him knew that they would be walking infinite steps in order to pack in as many of the sights as possible.

Brent had the innate ability to light up every room he entered. He was the most caring and compassionate person, always putting a smile on everyone’s face. From his family to his career to his many life adventures, for those who knew him best or only met him once, Brent was known for being courageous, kind, gentle, adventurous, generous, and funny. And he was quick to wish everyone a “Goood Eeeevening”. Those closest to Brent will honor his memory by continuing to travel, laugh, and enjoy life while making silly faces and remembering to eat “cookies and cake, chicken and feeesh”. He will be missed forever and never forgotten. Just keep punchin’!

Brent blessed his family as a wonderful son, brother, uncle, and cousin. He is survived by his wife Catherine and daughter Ella, parents Bruce and Melanie, brother Blake (Amanda), niece Sydney, nephew Thomas, and many special cousins. He fought valiantly, quietly, and courageously until the end and now finds peace and comfort with God.

Brent's family will receive guests from 5:00pm - 7:00pm on Tuesday, March 23, 2021 at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 7000 Creedmoor Rd. Raleigh, NC 27613. Brent's Memorial Service will be a private event but all are welcome to attend virtually on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 at 11:00am. Please click "join livestream" to be routed to the livestream. The stream will be available at 10:30 am on Wednesday. All attendees of the visitation are required to wear a mask and social distance where possible.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Brent’s memory to the North Carolina Aquarium Society or The V Foundation.