Longtime Physical Plant Employee Brenda Fuller Remembered

Whenever Brenda Fuller saw a need in her small community, she was the first one to jump in and lend a hand. When it came to organizing fundraisers for her neighbors going through hard times, she was there to do whatever needed to be done—from setting up tables to gathering donations to shopping for items for raffle baskets.

Brenda Fuller

Fuller, of Parish, a longtime Physical Plant employee, passed away on Dec. 4, 2016. She is survived by her husband, Robert Briggs of Parish; her son and daughter-in-law, Joshua and Miriam Fuller of Palm Coast, Florida; and three grandchildren. She was predeceased by her son, Zachary, earlier in 2016.

Fuller was a scheduler with Physical Plant for 19 years—18 years in the Perimeter Zone and one year with Physical Plant’s central office. The nature of her job often meant dealing with situations that needed to be fixed—too much heat in one building, not enough in another. Fuller always triaged these kinds of calls with humor and grace, and worked closely with campus community members and vendors to make sure the office ran smoothly and efficiently.

Through her work, Fuller built a strong network of colleagues and friends across campus, says Louise Ciaramella, operations supervisor with Physical Plant.

“Brenda was the first line of contact within the campus community for dealing with maintenance repairs and requests in academic and administrative buildings on campus,” says Ciaramella. “She was respected by everyone, and everyone would call her a friend.”

Ciaramella says Fuller was a humble, down-to-earth person who was well loved among her Physical Plant colleagues for her big heart and strong work ethic. She would often push through when not feeling well, not wanting to burden her coworkers with extra work. “She put everyone else before herself,” Ciaramella says. “She had the biggest heart you can imagine. She was truly a rare treasure.”

There is a quote that sticks out in Ciaramella’s mind when she remembers Brenda Fuller: “A golden heart stopped beating … hard-working hands at rest.”