Brian Honan – Friend and Role Model

By Peter J. Koutoujian, Middlesex Sheriff

I still think of Brian literally every day and smile.

Brian and I first met in law school, and like so many before me I was instantly drawn to this larger than life character. We came from different backgrounds, but became fast friends because of how similar we were: both proud of our hometowns, both from loving families, and both with a real motivation to help other people through public service. Coming back to that apartment and seeing a laughing Brian Honan – usually in the middle of telling one of his infamous stories – are some of the most cherished memories I have.

Brian’s humor, energy, and passion for his neighborhood of Allston-Brighton were all legendary characteristics of his, but his loyalty and supportiveness as a friend was always his most impressive trait to me. Brian and I followed similar career paths after law school, and he was always the one who encouraged me forward. Hearing Brian talk about ‘seeking justice’ as an assistant district attorney in Suffolk County was part of the reason I left private practice and became a prosecutor in Middlesex County. And watching Brian run for City Councilor in 1996 – with the same big smile and easy laugh he always had – inspired me to consider public office. I ran my first race for state representative just one year later, and to no one’s surprise Brian was my first volunteer.

My world became so much larger because of Brian Honan. Some of my closest friends today were people he introduced me to, because Brian’s warmth and charm just drew you in. Fifteen years later, I still think about him every day – and when I get together with those friends there is a never-ending supply of classic Brian Honan stories to tell. Brian’s legacy can be seen in the community leaders he inspired, the friends he brought together, and the good deeds those people continue to do in his name through this foundation. We are all lucky to have had – and still have – such an example in our lives and his legacy, vibrant and strong, remains undiminished.