Brent James Herritz

MADISON- Brent J. Herritz, age 58, of Madison, left this world unexpectedly on Friday Aug. 24, 2018.   Brent was born in Madison on Oct 24, 1959.  From day one, Brent danced to the beat of his own drum, and lived life according to his own unique values and world view. He was a lifelong and proud Madisonian 'Eastsider', who graduated from La Follette High School in 1977, and later earned a bachelor's degree in Ag-Journalism from UW-Madison.  While Brent had many jobs throughout his life, he found his niche running his own home construction contractor business where he showcased superb design and management skills and an obsessive attention to detail.  Over the years Brent took great pride in building high quality homes with his small team of expert builders. He had many loves in his life including music, biking, swimming, ethnic food dining, motorcycling, and cinema.   Brent was voracious reader with an encyclopedic knowledge of all things historical and political.  He loved and regularly patronized the Madison and Monona public libraries.  Brent loved his family and his friends, and greatly enjoyed reminiscing about his youth while growing up in Madison.  For many years Brent struggled with the demons of drug and alcohol addiction.  Up until the very end of Brent's life, his loving parents continued to provide him with unconditional love, support, and eternal hope for his recovery.  Despite our sadness, we find great solace in our belief that Brent is finally at peace and is no longer in pain.  We hope that Brent can now gleefully spend his time reading and 'YouTubing' in that 'palatial public library in the sky', where there are no late return fines, no time limits on computer use, and no restrictions on talking as loud as you want.  Brent is survived by his parents, Jim and Nancy Herritz; brothers, Mark (Kristi) Herritz, and Todd (Cindi) Herritz; nieces, Claire and Hanna Herritz; and numerous friends.  Brent's family hopes that friends will respect their decision to mourn privately without a formal funeral service.  In lieu of gifts, Brent's family would appreciate that memorials be given in Brent's name to local addiction treatment services such as Journey Mental Health, Rebos Chris Farley House, Tellurian UCAN, or Hope Haven, or the treatment facility of your choice.  Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com Gunderson East Funeral & Cremation Care 5203 Monona Dr. (608) 221-5420