William J. Brennan

Friday, Apr. 29, 2022

William J.  “Bill” Brennan was born in Butte, Montana on May 9, 1928, the only child of James T. And Ellen McGill Brennan. He passed away in Salt Lake City on April 8, 2022.

Bill graduated from Judge Memorial School and attended Saint Mary’s College, Moraga, California. While at Saint Mary’s, Bill helped organize and program the campus radio station, which broadcast in the Moraga Valley as KSMC. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah.

When he transferred to Utah, he joined KUTA as a copywriter. Upon graduation, he moved to KDYL (then an NBC network affiliate) as writer-producer. He wrote, produced and broadcast news, documentary and special events and contributed to NBC network news programs.

During the Korean War Bill was commissioned at the US Navy Officer Candidate School, Newport, Rhode Island. He served on the staffs of Commander, Western Sea Frontier in San Francisco and the US Seventh Fleet in the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia. He continued activities in naval intelligence through the reserve program, including duty with the Defense Intelligence Agency in the Pentagon and the Naval Amphibious Warfare Center in Coronado, California. He retired with the rank of commander. After active duty, Bill joined Ross Jurney and Associates advertising agency as a writer/producer.

On a flight from Salt Lake City to San Francisco, Bill met the stewardess, Janet Sneberger. They were married in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1958. They shared their adventures together for 64 years.

He was executive vice president of the agency when the family moved to Connecticut, where Bill was a marketing director for a subsidiary of the Readers Digest in Chappaqua, New York. For the Digest he directed marketing operations in the United States and Europe. He wrote and produced an award-winning documentary film on American students traveling in Europe. The family returned to Utah in 1976, where Bill continued his media career.

Bill served as a member and president of the boards of Judge Memorial Catholic High School, Guadalupe Schools, and Catholic Foundation of Utah. He was a board member of days of ‘47 Inc. He attended Saint Ambrose Parish, where he was a lector for over 30 years. Sons Daniel Girard, Thomas James and infant son Richard William preceded him in death.

A memorial Mass was celebrated April 20, 2022, at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church. Committal, Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery.