The Funeral Mass will be held at 1:00 PM on Wednesday, June 15, 2022 at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, 7801 Bay Branch Drive, The Woodlands, TX 77382. There will also be a Memorial Service held at 6:00 PM, Friday, June 17, 2022 at The Fellowship Church, 12314 Rose Road, Willis, TX 77378. For questions, please contact Eickenhorst Funeral Services 936-788-1145.
In lieu of flowers, Brandi's wish was that donations in her name be made to St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in The Woodlands, TX, especially to the music ministry, adult faith formation, and St. Anthony’s Bread food pantry. And remember hugs can be medicinal, so hug like Brandi.
Brandi recently earned her Masters of Library and Information Science (Summa Cum Laude) from the University of North Texas, where she also had received her B.A. in anthropology and operatic music. For the past few years, Brandi worked as an IT Business Analyst for Sam Houston State University (SHSU) in Huntsville, TX. Prior to SHSU, she compiled an impressive resume in financial analysis, asset security, and risk management. After nearly twenty years in the corporate world, Brandi fulfilled her dream of genealogy and desire for service.
Brandi had an incredible gift for details and research. She combined that with her love for family and earned her certificate in genealogical research from Boston University and was part of the ProGen Study Group (group 30). In her spare time, Brandi contracted with Ancestry, was an Archive Indexer for FamilySearch, and served on the Board of Directors as Librarian for Montgomery County Genealogical & Historical Society. She volunteered as a Genealogy Speaker for the Stewart Library in Montgomery, TX. Brandi was extremely proud to be in the Daughters of the American Revolution, where she volunteered as Genealogical Research Committee Chair for the Twin Creeks Chapter in Texas.
Brandi served many families through her own research services and blogged at Genealogy Woman. Her love for genealogy was far more than just gathering information. She realized that in telling the stories of the past, we gain a deeper sense of belonging today. She was highly motivated to help others know that they do belong, that we all belong to beautiful though crazy families. And because she knew family is far more than bloodlines, Brandi firmly believed that we are all truly brothers and sisters, belonging to one another. Brandi will always be remembered for bringing us together as family.
Brandi was always involved in her church and in the community. Her volunteerism was vast. After her undergraduate, she was Treasurer for the North American Foundation for Keele University in Staffordshire, UK. Brandi was also involved in Junior League of Collin County, TX, in which she served as Treasurer, Secretary, and other chairs, including Collin County Council on Family Violence. She eventually became a sustainer with Junior League of The Woodlands, TX. Her volunteerism came from a place of loving others wherever they lived.
Brandi loved to travel because she loved people. She traveled for work to countries like Germany and South Korea, and traveled with friends to countries like France, Greece, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand, and traveled with family to countries like Canada, The Caribbean, England, Ireland, and Italy. Her worldwide travels were a result of seeing everyone belonging together as a global family.
Brandi’s faith was essential throughout her entire life. She had fond memories from her childhood of the people at Bay Area Christian Church in Webster, TX where her faith in Christ blossomed in the Ark. In adulthood, Brandi was fully initiated into the Catholic Church at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, The Woodlands, TX by then Msgr. George A. Sheltz. Brandi remained actively involved at St. Anthony’s, especially through the ACTS retreats, food pantry, marriage prep, and music ministries.
Brandi had a love and excitement for learning, for music, and for travel. She was inspired by Audrey Hepburn and Saint Mother Teresa to see the good in everyone and the beautiful in God’s creation. Music, no matter the style, was for Brandi the natural harmonics echoing from the soul. She sang from her soul always lifting up her voice with the angels and her ancestors so others too could connect with one another and with God.
Brandi is survived by her loving husband, James Daniel Spurgin (m. December 31, 1997), her parents Raymond George and Janet Lynne (Chatel) Baker, her brother Scott Allen (Meagan Tarbutton) Baker, her half-sister Laura Amanda (Morgan Ory) Baker, her godmother Dolly (Bill) Chatel-Dodd, her brothers-in-law John (Jennifer) Spurgin, Kristofer (Andrea) Spurgin, Geoffrey (Sara) Spurgin, her mother-in-law Patricia Spurgin, numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and her many amazing nephews and nieces who knew her as Auntie BB.
Because family for Brandi was more than blood, she is also survived by friends whom she considered family: Cindy Latimer (Ivo) Damman, friend-like-sister since elementary school, Annette Wimsatt and Dave Dwinell, neighbors who were adopted into the family since Brandi and James’ first house, and her sisters-in-Christ from ACTS at her church.
