Although he may not have shown it on the field of play, former Saskatchewan Roughriders offensive lineman Bryan Illerbrun is being remembered as a compassionate person who wanted to help others.
Illerbrun, who grew up in Estevan, passed away May 16 at the age of 56.
His uncle, Bob Burns, described the 14-season CFLer as a "very kind, very generous person," noting that he had many hobbies away from the field.
"If he had two dollars, he had to give one of them away," Burns laughed. "He was a gentle giant, really. He liked to hunt, he liked to fish, he was a great outdoorsman. His passion was hunting and fishing, using the meat to make sausage and that sort of thing. He was a wonderful cook. Carpentry was his trade, he was a good carpenter."
Although Gainsborough is usually cited as Illerbrun's hometown, he actually spent the first three or four years of his life in Glen Ewen. He was born in Gainsborough.
His parents, Jerry and Vivian, moved to Estevan before he started school.
Illerbrun played high school football in Estevan before joining the Regina Rams at age 15.
"He was very aggressive. He was one way off the field and another on it. He was very competitive. That's one of the things that affected his health too, because he was awful hard on himself," said Burns, referring to a severe concussion Illerbrun suffered later in his career.
Due to his head injury and the discovery of an aneurysm several years back, which his family believes is related, Illerbrun's brain is being donated to a research project in Toronto.
The study, which involves the CFL Alumni, is called the Canadian Sports Concussion Project and examines the impact of playing football on the brain. It is taking place at the Toronto Western Hospital.
"That was probably one of his wishes," said Burns. "His wife (Nora) is a doctor and I expect they had discussed that sort of thing. The family was all for that because of his complications with sports injuries."
Illerbrun began his CFL career with the Roughriders, playing there from 1978-83 before heading to the B.C. Lions, where he won the Grey Cup in 1985.
After three seasons with the Lions, Illerbrun returned to the Riders in 1986 and stayed until 1989, when he won his second Grey Cup.
Illerbrun closed out his career by playing two seasons with the Ottawa Rough Riders.
"We watched Bryan a lot. We're very proud of him, the fact that he was a starter, he was a first-stringer," said Burns.
"Another thing I was proud of is he was a top power lifter in Regina. So he had a great strength. I was always kind of proud of that, because that's something that kind of runs in the family, as we have that kind of ability."
Illerbrun moved to Williston in the early 1990s to work with his father. More recently, he had bought an old hotel in Tioga, N.D., with 14 rooms, and was in the process of fixing up the final room when he passed.
"He opened it to people that needed help. That speaks a lot of the man," said Burns.
Illerbrun's family is accepting donations in his memory for Penta Completions Estevan Minor Football.
