To the world, you were one person, but to so many, you were their world. Brian Jacob Rottlaender was born on April 17, 1974, in Salt Lake City, Utah to Hans Rottlaender and Linda (Lyle) Hardy. Brian left this life after a courageous fight against Colorectal Cancer on Friday, August 11, 2023. Brian never gave up hope that he would be well to remain here longer with the ones he loved. He fought up until his last breath and in his own words, he just wanted to live! He was surrounded by so much love during his life and especially in his last days from his wife, parents, children, and grandchildren. We are all heartbroken you are gone from this life, yet honored we were part of it.
Brian is leaving behind the love of his life and soulmate, JaNae (Goeckeritz) Rottlaender; his son Alex Rottlaender, daughter Katherine Bewley, stepsons, Jayden (Dakota Jo) Quibell, Jayce (Dakota) Quibell, Jaxson (Allie) Quibell, his brothers Jason Rottlaender, and Joshua Rottlaender, and four grandchildren, Stetson Waylon, Brantley Jay, Ember Jo, and Rustin Ray Quibell. He will be deeply missed by so many, including his sweet 101-year-old grandmother Fay Hubbard Nilsson, as well as many aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, friends, and co-workers.
Brian grew up in Salk Lake City and attended Granite High School where he graduated in 1992. He later attended the University of Utah and graduated from Utah College of Massage Therapy, as well as Utah Career College where he became an Automotive Technician. Brian was a gifted and skilled technician and achieved many certificates over the years. Brian became a Master Technician with over 20 years of experience and could fix just about anything. He loved what he did, and it was evident to all who worked alongside him. He often taught others by example without even knowing and if there was a problem to solve or a tool needed for a job, he was your man! Brian worked at Mercedes Benz of Farmington and loved and respected his work family.
Brian was known to be a quiet, gentle soul, but always had the perfect thing to say when he spoke. He was intelligent and quick witted with an amazing ability to make people laugh. He had a beautiful contagious smile and embodied a unique feel-good energy regardless of what he was going through.
He was an amazing athlete who loved to run, bike, hike, ski, paddle board, do yoga, and scuba dive, and was also a Capoeira Advanced Student or Aluno Graduado. He loved the Capoeira community and considered them his family.
Brian had a creative mind; he loved music and art and was always trying to learn new things and perfect whatever he was working on.
He is preceded in death by his eldest brother Daniel Rottlaender, his grandparents Margaret and Wilhelm Rottlaender, and maternal grandfather Sven Nilsson.
His Memorial Service will be held at Larkin Sunset Gardens in the LeJardin Greenhouse 1910 East Dimple Dell Road (10600 South) on September 8, 2023, at 11:00 a.m.
He was very grateful to all those who cared for him in the ICU at Intermountain Medical Center, IHC Hospice, as well as the medical teams at Utah Cancer Centers, St. Marks Hospital, and Huntsman Cancer Center.
Farewell, our precious, courageous, beautiful Brian. We love you and cherish all the joy and light that you brought to our lives. We are counting the days until our souls are reunited.
Dear JaNae, I'm incredibly and deeply sorry for your loss. You and Brian both fought bravely during his ordeal with cancer. I'm so glad I got to meet you both. I could tell how in love you were...and still are. I can only hope there's life after death. Sending peaceful and comforting vibes your way. 🩷
I only knew Brian in his last 2 years life, but it was Brian, you only need one interaction with him to know how unique and awesome of a person he was. I was introduced to him as he applied as a technician for my service department for Mercedes Benz. Brian completely undersold himself during his interview (shocker, I know!) Only after a few weeks I could see, Brian was a gift. I didn’t seek him out, I just had an ad running for techs. And at that time, I would have hired a person that could fog a mirror. But I get Brian. The universe knew what I really needed in my professional journey, and delivered me a gift. Brian was a machine, in more ways than one! He was so smart at figuring out problems on complex cars. He was consistently reliable, good spirited, and a model technician for the younger guys on my team. He would lend tools, share knowledge, and he truly cared about the owner of the vehicle he worked on, making sure everything was safe to drive. All of those things are things you can’t pay somebody to do. That was just who Brian was. Near the end, I discovered that Brian was also a fighter. Day after day he would show up to work, weakened from his treatments just days prior, and he would still amaze me and others at what he could accomplish. He still smiled, joked, he still kept his head down and quietly continued to be a valued member of our work-family. One day, in passing, I was telling Brian that I needed a tool to repair my motorcycle. I couldn’t describe it so he wanted me to show him. So we went out behind the workshop in the parking lot and he looked at my bike and said very plainly “you need a bicycle wrench”. Later that day, he was passing through my office and casually he handed me … a bicycle wrench, exactly in the size I needed (he eyeballed it from about 5 ft away previously in the parking lot), and told me to keep it, I might need it more than once. A gift, from a gift, how lucky was I?
Beyond my memories of him, I will remember Brian in the form if this small, meaningful wrench he gave me, that I will keep forever. I will miss Brian so much.