Brenda B. Hemstreet

Brenda was born in Lake Worth, Florida, on November 5, 1949. A bonafide local, Brenda’s mother, Joanna Brown, was at a football game cheering on her alma mater, the Lake Worth Trojans, when she went into labor. She was rushed to a clinic on Lake Avenue, where Brenda was born. Fittingly, Brenda would later attend Lake Worth High School where she would meet life-long friends and graduate in 1967.

Brenda then pursued her childhood dream of becoming a nurse, obtaining a degree from Palm Beach Junior College in 1970 and working as a Registered Nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in West Palm Beach.

In June of 1971, Brenda married her high school sweetheart, Gary Hemstreet, in a ceremony at Sacred Heart Church, just days after Gary graduated from Florida State University.

Brenda was active in the community her entire adult life, volunteering in the cafeterias and front offices of Sacred Heart Catholic School, Cardinal Newman High School, and the Junior League. Brenda was also a First Aid volunteer at the South Florida Fair for 20 years.

She supported her children in every pursuit, spending countless days on the ball fields and in the dance and gymnastics studios all over Palm Beach County. An avid reader, Brenda could sit quietly for hours with a book. She enjoyed jazzercise classes, lunches with friends, shelling in Captiva, doting on her seven grandchildren, and traveling with close friends and the love of her life, Gary. She will be dearly missed until we are all together again.

Brenda is survived by her husband of 52 years, Gary Hemstreet; their four children and spouses, Keith & Heidi Hemstreet, Erin & Clayton Sullivan, Garrett Hemstreet, and Lindsay & Ben Goldberg; her sisters, Linda Schuette and Jeannie Brown, brother Cody Brown, and countless nieces, nephews, and cousins. She is pre-deceased by her mother Joanna Brown, father John Beckham, stepfather Homer Brown, and younger sister, Jo Ellen Brown.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the David M. Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research, by visiting mskcc.convio.net/goto/bhemstreet

A memorial mass will be held for Brenda at St. Juliana Catholic Church on December 2 at 10:30 a.m. 4500 S Dixie Hwy. West Palm Beach, FL 33405

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.dorsey-smithmemorygardens.com for the Hemstreet family.