Edward John Brosnahan

On July 25, 2020, Edward John Brosnahan (aka Dr. Rock N’ Roll) made his transition from Lonesome Town to Rock N’ Roll Heaven (where they have a helluva band) due to complications from heart, COPD and other medical conditions.  An original 579, he graduated from St. Peter's Elementary, attended Gonzaga College High School and graduated from Archbishop Carroll High School in 1969. 

He was predeceased by: his parents, James J. (1968) and Kathleen R. (1988) Brosnahan; an older brother, James J. Beckley (1997); a younger brother, David R. Brosnahan (2009) and the love of his life, Mary Helen – his wife (2018). 

Left to mourn his passing are: his daughter, Kelly M. Bothum (Peter); his boys, Ryan F. (Kelly A.) and Ross G. (Ashley) Thuillier; Poppy's Grands, Lauren, Natalie and Matthew Bothum, Elizabeth, Raymond, Addy, Rebecca and Charlotte Thuillier, along with niece Kathleen Webster and nephew David Jr.  Grand nieces Alex, Tori and Kasey, Devin and Regan and cousins and friends too numerous to mention. 

Ed retired an Officer from the United States Park Police in 2002 after 28 ½ years in uniform, only to return as a civilian dispatcher and retire again in 2012.  He served Temporary Duty Assignment in Valley Forge, Philadelphia and Boston, but his proudest was the incoming Marielitos Campaign from May – December 1980 in Miami and Key West, Florida to Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas.

A trove of Rock N’ Roll music knowledge, he DJed Dr. Rock N' Roll's Golden Oldie Revue in and around the San Francisco Bay-area clubs and private parties, reunions and receptions.  He hosted Dr. Rock N' Roll's Instant Celebrity Show (The Show that Puts You in the Spotlight), in the formative days of karaoke (think 8-Tracks), while serving as an Officer in the San Francisco Field Office from 1981-1990.  It was there that he married the girl he left behind in Hyattsville, MD – Mary Helen, in August 1988, only to return in 1990 with her to the DMV at her request, after the Loma Prieta Quakes at the start of the Giants-Athletics World Series in 1989.

A devoted crossword puzzler, his greatest accomplishment was finishing a New York Times Sunday Puzzle in pen (a sign of arrogance his brother Jim said, as an oversized personality, a bit of a raconteur).  A fountain of useless knowledge – he will be sorely missed.