Ethel Brez

Ethel (“Eddy”) Manuelian Brez passed away on August 25th, 2021 at the age of 84 from melanoma. She was the beloved wife of Melvin Brez, her husband of 61 years prior to his passing late last year. They were forever together, in work, family, love, and life. She was also the incredible and loving mother to Alexandra Brez and Zachary Brez, the wonderful mother-in-law of Matthew Wickware and Jen Kangas, and the very best grandmother to Evan and Scarlett Brez, and William Wickware. She is survived by her dear siblings, Ann Porfilio, Daniel Manuelian, and Alice Sangermano. In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by her parents, Sooren and Baitzar Manuelian.

Eddy was a working mother before that was even a recognized term, predominantly as half of a writing team with her husband, Mel. They wrote many TV films, including the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Scandal, The Miracle of Kathy Miller, and Goldie and the Boxer. They also worked as writers on many soap operas, winning numerous Writers Guild awards and a pair of Daytime Emmys. Eddy was also the author of a novel, Those Dark Eyes (as E.M.Brez), a thriller based in the NYC Armenian community. She was raised in Astoria Queens by parents who had escaped the Armenian Genocide as children. She had a perfect attendance record in grade school, then went on to Bryant High School and Queens College where she met Mel when she was reviewing a play he had written. They both worked as actors in New York and in Summerstock before spending a year in Paris on a Fulbright scholarship.

Lifelong New Yorkers, Eddy and Mel later in life owned homes in Litchfield County CT where they spent their weekends gardening. When in the city, Eddy loved to walk in Central Park and watch the local birds. She loved to learn and took classes in French until the very end. She was a loyal friend, keeping up relationships for fifty plus years with her friends. She loved classic literature and poetry, quoting Shakespeare and Dickinson even in her final days. She knew a song for every bit of dialogue, every name mentioned. Her grandchildren always thought she was making up the lyrics, but rather she just had a great inventory in her mind. She was fun, she was clever, she was loving. And she herself said she had lived a remarkable life.