BRIAN CHARLES MONAHAN

The youngest son of Grace and Kenneth Monahan, Brian was born in Natick MA (“since Wellesley didn’t have a hospital”), then grew up in Wellesley, Massachusetts, alongside his brothers Bruce and Barry.  Brian attended Wellesley High School and Northeastern University, where he discovered his love of radio and television broadcasting as he majored in journalism and worked co-op jobs in those areas. He was hired by AT&T in public relations right out of school which relocated him to New York City for 18 years. He loved living in New York and claimed to have 3 tuxedos in his closet at one point since he regularly attended black tie events as a part of his job.  During his time with AT&T he often served as the corporate spokesman to the news media and managed the AT&T InfoQuest Center, a futuristic communications exhibit space located in the corporate headquarters at 550 Madison Ave. In 1989 Brian moved to Bedminster, NJ continuing his work for AT&T but focused on supporting Bell Laboratories and producing the Science Education Programming “Live from Bell Labs” which aired on PBS.  One episode, starring Penn and Teller, “Making Magic”, was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Educational Programming in 1993, an achievement he shared with his producer Gus Theocharopoulous, and an accomplishment of which he was very proud.

           

In 1998, he took early retirement which led him to numerous volunteer activities, including becoming a visitor with the Somerset County NJ Visiting Nurse Association, volunteering at Matheny Medical and Educational Center, located in Far Hill, NJ, supporting the Clarence Dillon Public Library and becoming a member of the Bedminster Flyers Bicycle Club, through which Brian met his wife Jean Whaley. Alongside Jean, so many remember Brian as “The Mayor” of his neighborhood in Bedminster, NJ, always helping organize annual block parties, fostering friendship among the residents.  In 2014 Brian and Jean settled in Doylestown, PA, enjoying the lovely surroundings and warm community there.

 

Brian was an extremely social and outgoing person, and was known for his “radio voice” and his black tie New Year’s Eve parties. He was also famous for having survived a gunshot wound in New York’s Chinatown in 1985. As he told the news media back then: “No matter where I go in life, I’ll always have a little piece of New York next to my heart.”  He was warm, he was funny, he was kind and generous, and also a bit of a troublemaker at times.  There are many stories out there about Brian; let’s share them!