On Thursday, July 6, 2023, Brysan Caroline Foriest took her last breaths at just 21 years old. Mast Cell Activation Syndrome had destroyed her strong and healthy body. Her family and best friends never left her side. We loved our Brysee, Bison, Bysee, Brysee Woo, Brysee Poo, Appa, Pa too much to ever leave.
Brysan came into the world on January 30, 2002 as the fifth child of twelve siblings, to Bryan and Valerie Foriest. She entered the world not crying, but staring us down.
After that, she just tried to soak in all of her new life, a trait that never left her as she studied and absorbed all the joy and wonder around her. She relished her place in the family, as little sister to two brothers and two sisters, and big sister to three brothers and four sisters. She had a close and special bond with each of her siblings, celebrating and connecting with them in each of their giftings.
Brysan spent her childhood prancing around in a Fiona dress with her siblings, ordering her big sister and best friend Aidan to follow her commands, and playing American Girl dolls with her best friend Emma Rose. She might have been a princess and fashionista with a love of all things purple, but that never stopped her from picking up bugs with Malachi and playing in the mud with her brothers, all while wearing her tiara. And changing clothes as many times as necessary to be clean and beautiful.
Brysan was homeschooled along with her siblings. She was in Shanan homeschool co-op from age 3 to graduation, and in Quiller House tutorial with David Raymond. She loved learning, with a passion for science. She thought writing chemistry lab reports was a blast, as well as long thesis papers for Mr. Raymond.
After graduation and a year at Columbia State, she continued to pursue her passion for dance on staff at Fellowship of Creative Arts. Oh, did she love her students. She wanted all of them to experience the freedom and joy she found in using her body to dance and worship. She delighted in each and every student and made sure that they knew.
Despite planning the most elaborate wedding from age 5, Brysan never had the opportunity to marry. When young, she dreamt of growing up to say “I do” to Shrek, being a princess with a swamp full of little ogres of her own.
As she grew older, those dreams turned into wanting to be married, best friends with all her siblings and their spouses, sitting on the porch watching all the cousins play together. She mentioned often how thankful she was that she had the chance to meet and become good friends with a few of her sibling’s spouses.
Brysan approached everything with passion, giving all of herself into everything she did whether that was baking (her cream puffs couldn’t be matched), babysitting, being the favorite aunt, studying, singing, pitching epic preschool diva tantrums or dancing.
At age 3 she took a ballet class with her big sister Aidan and found one of her great loves, dance. Brysan was always a ballerina, even before we met in person; on ultrasounds, we joked at her pointed toes and dancing feet. Brysan fell in love with dance—or maybe dance loved Brysan—but the two became one. Brysan used her body as an instrument. She could tell a story, express every emotion and pull you into her heart and mind with the way she moved. Dance was her love language, from the age of 5 she would express happy, sad, angry, hurt, joy and any other emotion with dance.
Fellowship School of Creative Arts became her second home by the time she was 9. She started spending weeks in the summers at dance intensives around the country, always diligently working to raise funds for herself. She was excited about all of the places she spent her summers studying ballet and dance. But she was most thrilled to receive a merit scholarship and spend the summer in San Francisco with Alonzo King Lines Ballet at 16.
But as pleased as she might have been with her accomplishments, she was most proud of her family and friends. She told anyone who would listen about them, showing videos and pictures and bragging that they were hers. And no one could resist listening to her, as she was just so engaging, kind and chattily persuasive. You couldn’t turn down listening to what she had to share. She loved them and they were blessed to never doubt that love.
Her brilliant mind retained the tiniest details of what makes each of them special and she loved to lavish praise and remind them of these things. She not only gave the ultimate intentional gifts, but constantly encouraged and prayed. Brysan texted, baked, bought, wrote, created, and gave reminders of her love, on any occasion. Brysan celebrated her loved ones for who they were, right where they were, never asking anyone to be anything other than their authentic self. She made sure you knew just how special you were. She would laugh loudly with you, head thrown back guffawing, sit with you sobbing, or sing a duet from many a musical. She was always willing to just BE with you.
Her illness should have made her dour and bitter. She was honest about her pain and suffering, she would rarely talk about it. It never stopped her from sharing her heart of gratitude or from being joyful and funny. She wasn’t going to let illness take her love of life away.
Brysan loved life, but her ability to avoid bitterness was because she is madly in love with the Lord. Since she was a little girl, He was always her favorite. She danced with Him as her audience, and people noticed. She found her voice as preteen and was and harnessed its power to sing her face off, whether in the shower, car, hallway, bedroom or outside and eventually with her best friends and siblings leading others at her church or at events.
She was always singing throughout her trials in the hospital and up until her very final moments of life, when she was singing and trying to arrange as many surprises as she could for all those she loved.
She leaves behind so many of us who are still trying to figure out how we are ever going to do this until we see her again. Her parents Bryan and Valerie Foriest, brothers Canaan, Malachi (and Crysta), Gideon (and Evelyn Bunce) Judah and Solomon Foriest.
Her sisters, Addison (and Kat), Aidan Vander Hamm (and Seth), Emerson, Harper, Storie and Jericho Foriest. Her nieces Amory, Foriest and Scout Vander Hamm. Her doting grandparents Michael and Carol Foriest, aunt Angela and cousins Mattie, Tucker, Chloe, Maclain, Paylin, Piper and Bodie Anderson.
Her best friends along with their mamas whom she also considered family: Emma Rose and Vanessa Williamson, Christian and Kristine Carollo and Alexandria and Julie Goss. Along with so many other friends and extended family.
She will have a Celebration of Life on August 3rd at Conduit Church, where she loved the people and the pastoral staff and was a proud member of the worship team. Receiving line at 4:30 and service at 6. Please join us for a time of worship, dance, love and giggles as we celebrate our vivacious, kind, ever generous, life-loving, dancing, beautiful Brysee.
Brysan LOVED all things fashion and getting all glammed up, so in her honor we ask you go all out. Dress as formal as you feel comfortable: put on that fancy dress, don those cufflinks, pull out those special occasion heels or bowtie, do the updo you’ve been wanting to try and come be with us for a night of joy. Because that’s what she is…. JOY.
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