Brian Breiland, 82, from Thunder Bay, Ontario, passed away peacefully on February 15th, 2026, surrounded by his family.
Born on August 29th, 1943, in Port Arthur to parents Verna and Haakon Breiland of Port Arthur, Thunder Bay. After the loss of Verna when Brian was just a year old, Haakon married Louise Breiland, giving Brian stepbrothers; Earl and Stanley Conners.
Brian lived life to the fullest. He received a solid education at Central School, Prospect School, PACI and LCBI Saskatchewan for accounting along with various courses in Manitoba, Calgary, and Edmonton.
In his first marriage to Joanne Halvorson (Vern), Brian was blessed with three daughters: Bonnie Breiland, Heather Hambrook (Keith), and Dawn Gulmick (Daren).
Brian spent several years working with Trans Canada pipelines and eventually was stationed in Douala, Cameroon. It’s there that he met Liliane Breiland in 2001. He became a devoted father to Joseph Breiland, Elianne Button (Nick), Etienne Breiland, Lesly Breiland; together they welcomed Hannah Breiland (Jordan). The family stayed in Douala until moving to Thunder Bay in 2015 where Brian reunited with cousins from the Breiland, Watson, and Engberg families. He consistently supported his family – his children and wife – always aiming for harmony and bringing everyone together. He was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, brother, cousin, uncle and friend.
Brian is fondly remembered by his wife Liliane as well as his children; Bonnie, Heather, Dawn , Joseph , Elianne , Etienne , Lesly , and Hannah. His grandchildren include Kaylie , Jacob , Joey , Journey , Sophia , Calvin , and Luna. Known for being kind-hearted, generous, honest, and funny he loved telling stories and had a deep appreciation for music. Preceding him were parents Haakon , Verna , Louise , and brother Stanley.
A celebration of life will take place in the Provincial Room at the Prince Arthur hotel on February 27th at 5pm.
A funeral service will occur at Hilldale Lutheran Church on February 28th at 1:00pm.
An intimate burial will follow at Sunset Memorial.
The family wants to express their gratitude to the team at Thunder Bay Regional Health Science Centre’s 1A unit as well as St. Joe’s Hospice Team and Dr. Delpaggio among many others for their kindness and support.
Brian will be greatly missed but forever held dear in our hearts.
