Donald "Don" Julian Brumlik has passed away on Tuesday, May 10, 2016. He is survived by his current wife, Arlen Carol Brumlik; ex-wife, Frances Berman Brumlik; his children, Daniel Joseph (Karen Benzel) Brumlik, Richard Scott (Tracey Jane) Brumlik, and Leslie Anne (Cal) Couch; and his grandchildren, Samuel Henry and Andrew Donald Brumlik, and Jack Calloway and Annabel Frances Couch.



Mr. Brumlik was born in Chicago, Illinois on June 30, 1938, where he lived until 1979, when he moved to southern California. From his hometown, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois and a Juris Doctor degree from the DePaul University College of Law. Mr. Brumlik became a certified Public Accountant, and over the next forty years, used his skills in growth strategy, financing, and marketing to establish a prominent and respectable resume.

His remarkable professional endeavors include serving in positions such as a Partner in the law firm of Bradshaw and Brumlik in Chicago, President and CEO of Advanced Medical Technologies, Inc., Executive Vice President of Rx Medical Services Corp., President of Calmark Holdings Corporation in Los Angeles, California, and Vice President of Watt Industries, a major Californian real estate development company. He was also employed as a Principal in Sandhurst Equity Corporation, The American Language Kollege, Inc., PlanSearch Corp., Drago Architectural and Development, and InfoByTel. Finally, Mr. Brumlik settled in as a Partner and Principal of The Kosnar Group until February 2012, when he suffered a traumatic brain injury and subsequently retired. After his retirement, Mr. Brumlik attended the Coastline Community College Acquired Brain Injury Program in Newport Beach, California for two years. Then, he attended classes at the Saddleback College Emeritus Program in Orange County, California.

Despite his extensive ambitions, Don was just as special in his personal life as well. He was intelligent, witty, always a quick thinker, and a very entertaining man. He loved animals, and always had at least two or three dogs at any given time. His favorite place to visit was the ocean; he always felt at home amongst its serene waters. He enjoyed laughing, drinking, and having fun with friends and loved ones, and consistently maintained a positive outlook on life. He will be fondly remembered by all who knew him.



There will be no formal services held in Don's honor. Rather, in accordance with his final wishes, Mr. Brumlik will be cremated privately. His ashes will be scattered in the Pacific Ocean, so that he may forever be one with the ocean he loved so dearly.

Here is a caring tribute from Don's best friend Carl Kosnar:

When Carl Met Don

Once upon a time, long ago, in a far off place called Chicago, two five-year old boys stared at each other from across the backyard fence. One lived on the west side of the alley that separated their homes and the other on the east side. Their names were Don and Carl. I don't remember if they said anything to each other in that brief initial encounter and I am almost certain they didn't exchange names. My recollection is that it was in the late summer of 1943. World War Il was raging in Europe and the Pacific Theater and many households that had a family member in military service placed a small flag with a star in the window. I truly feel that our parents were part of "The Greatest Generation."

The two boys didn't realize it then but their paths would soon cross again in early September when they both started kindergarten at Tonti School on the Southwest side of Chicago. Each of their homes were on the far edge of the school district so it was a several-mile hike each morning to school. There were no school busses and our parents rarely drove us unless there was a torrential downpour or sub-zero temperatures. Normal rainfall, snow, or ordinary above-zero temperatures never qualified as a reason for parents to drive, and there were plenty of unpleasant days living in Chicago in the winter months.

It didn't take long for these two little guys to become friends. They were fortunate in that they progressed through the grade levels and were never separated. I was never certain that it was entirely fortuitous since I believe that our primary grade school teachers sensed the bond that existed between us. School activities and after-school events were not organized and structured back then. If we wanted to play baseball we just rang doorbells to see if our friend's parents would allow them to come out and play. There were many days when we only had three or four players on each team. And, we certainly were not as talented as our grandchildren are today playing in Little League at five and six years of age.

Then, a wonderful thing happened in May, 1945, the war was over in Europe and the following August the Japanese surrendered. That meant that we no longer had to pull our wagons to school loaded with old newspapers (known as "paper drives") needed for the war efforts to pack weapons and equipment to be shipped overseas.

The years went by and suddenly we were bigshot eighth-graders. The west-side boy, Don, lived at 5705 South Albany in a "two-flat" (a Chicago term for a two-story residential building) that his parents owned. I lived on the east side of the ally which was Whipple Street. His father was a lawyer and Assistant States Attorney for Cook County, Illinois. Martin H. Kennelly was mayor of Chicago and both of our families were staunch Democrats. My grandfather was a Democratic precinct captain and a personal aide to Anton J. Cermak, the mayor of Chicago, until Mayor Cermak was shot and killed in 1933 in the attempted assassination of Franklin D. Roosevelt. We learned about local politics at an early age knocking on doors and ringing doorbells to hand out Democratic pamphlets and encourage people to come out on election day and vote for our Democratic candidates.

What a culture





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