Brett Bulow, a beloved son, father, brother and friend, entered the gates of heaven on February 22, 2022 — welcomed by his Grandpa, Grandma Nancy, Nana, Granddad, Aunt Sal and one of his best friends, Jamie Cook.
Brett was born on election day – November 5, 1968. A sports lover and talented athlete from an early age, he was our “Baby Butkus.” The family moved often as Dad worked in the oil business (Denver, Wyoming, New Mexico; Midland, Texas), finally settling in Missouri City, Texas, where Brett spent the rest of his elementary, junior high and high school years. Soon after moving to “Mo’ City,” he was named “50th Boy” at EA Jones Elementary, an honor where classmates selected their favorite boy. He began playing Longhorn tackle football when he was eight years old. Then came tennis, basketball, baseball and golf . . . and, later, extreme bocce ball, whether on West Beach in Galveston, the shores of Lake Travis or his sister’s backyard in Great Hills. A gifted athlete, Brett lettered in track his freshman year at Dulles High School and in football his sophomore year, serving as quarterback his senior year. Always popular, fun and handsome, his classmates voted him Prom King and Mr. Dulles his senior year.
After high school, Brett attended The University of Tulsa on a football scholarship. But he missed Texas and his buddies, so he transferred to The University of Texas at Austin where he majored in finance and roomed with Brad Scarborough. After college, Brett had a successful career as a recruiter. He remained a life-long sports fan, rooting for the Denver Broncos and Texas Longhorns, playing fantasy football with the “Quail Valley Scrubs,” and endlessly watching golf.
Brett would tell you his biggest accomplishment is his daughter, Layne Kathryn — his “mini-me” — a beautiful, smart and talented athlete. In addition to Layne, Brett is survived by his mother, Karen Gibbons and stepfather, Bruce; father, Bill Bulow; sister, Brooke Bulow (Mark); brother, Nick Bulow (Erika); stepsister, Shelley Jennings (Kevin); stepbrothers, Scott Gibbons (Tammy) and Mark Gibbons (Shannon); grandmother, Zelpha Bulow; and aunts Kathy Bulow-Cohen (Jon) and Laurie Von Bulow (Steve). Some of his best memories are the fun times he spent with his cousins: Heidi, Casey (Theresa), Catie (Brian), Jeff and Dave (Mital). Brett’s nieces and nephews always made him smile: Walker, Emilia, Jennifer, Corey, Ryan, Logan, Kendall, Brenna and Riley. The family would also like to extend a very special thank you to his longtime caregiver, Marie Galette, for all the love and support she gave Brett — and our family.
Brett lived bravely — most would have given up long ago. His soul will shine on forever.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, March 1, 2022 at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home Chapel, 2525 Central Expressway North, Allen, Texas 75013. The service will also be live streamed at TJMfuneral.com on Brett’s obituary page by clicking on the following link: https://celebrationoflife.tv/blog/brett-bulow. After the service, the recorded live stream will be available for viewing at the same link location. Following the service, the family will host a Celebration of Brett at Eldorado Country Club, 2604 Country Club Drive, McKinney, Texas 75072.
For those wishing to make a memorial gift, please consider contributing in Brett’s memory to the Christopher Reeve Foundation, which helped provide valuable guidance to our family as we navigated the past nine+ years.