BriAnna Kruzel

BriAnna Kruzel passed away unexpectedly at the age of 18 on September 28, 2013 from natural causes. On this Saturday night her dad went down to say good night and found her lifeless on the floor of her bedroom. Being a nurse I started CPR and 911 was dialed. Unfortunately, all of our efforts could not save her. The autopsy results showed “unknown causes” and after much research from the Mayo Clinic the cause of her death again was identified as “unknown causes”. Our only question is how does a healthy 18 year old just disappear from our lives in an instant without a reason?

Bri's infectious smile would light up a room!

Throughout BriAnna’s life she was very active and passionate about Girl Scouts but her greatest love was working with Big Brothers Big Sisters. In 2013 she was nominated and won High School Big Sister of the Year, something she was very proud of. BriAnna also received the Youth Appreciation Award through the St. Cloud Optimist Club for her hard work with Big Brothers Big Sisters. In 2014, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central MN created an annual award called “BriAnna Rose Kruzel Growing Up Big Award” in her honor, to recognize an exceptional Big Sister and/or Little Sister within the organization. BriAnna gave much of her time volunteering and was very involved with the Sartell Community Ed Dance program. In her free time she enjoyed scrapbooking, crafting and being around animals. She was a very happy person that had an infectious smile that would light up a room. In an attempt to honor her legacy of giving back, her family and friends started a non-profit in her memory called What Would Bri Do, Inc. WWBD will continue to give back to the community that she loved. An Angel of Hope will be placed in Sartell, MN in her memory in 2016.

You see BriAnna was an angel here on Earth. She was giving, caring, loved deeply and enjoyed life (as you can see through her smile). When Bri passed away our family made the decision that we would donate her eyes and tissue because we knew that’s what Bri would do. We continue to pray that we will hear from her recipients so that we can find a reason for her passing.

Bri, we will do our best to continue to do what you would do!