Brian Blackmon, known by most as “BB”, recently moved to South Dakota to live with Tom and Rachel Whetsel and start a new life.
Tom and BB met in St. Joseph, MO in 2005 when they worked together as bouncers at a few clubs. They immediately became the best of friends; where one was, the other was never far behind.
In 2014 BB’s 6 month old daughter was murdered at the hands of his ex-girlfriend and her current boyfriend. Her autopsy showed 65 injuries! That same year he met the love of his life and had never been happier. She helped him get through the unspeakable tragedy of losing a child and he helped to raise her 3 small children as if they were his own.
Last year, with no warning, she walked out on him and took the kids with her. He was devastated!
Not knowing what to do and wanting to start over, he reached out to Tom and made the decision to move to Sioux Falls. BB got a job as a bartender at the Silver Moon Bar and quickly became a favorite to many of the customers. He was energetic, quirky and loved to make people smile. He would often break out in dance to random music with no warning! BB would have given the shirt off of his back to a stranger if he thought they needed it!
On February 15, BB did not show up for his scheduled shift at the bar. His co-workers knew that that was unusual for him so they continued to try to contact him. By late evening, and still no word from him, they called in a well-check and Brian was found deceased.
The coroner indicated that he passed away from a 'broken heart' heart attack. This type of heart attack is normally found in elderly people when they lose a spouse and/or child.
Proceeds from this poker run will help to offset the unexpected funeral costs (including the transport of his body from Sioux Falls, SD to St. Joseph, MO) incurred by his young adult children.
Brian was laid to rest in his hometown of St. Joseph, MO.
Thank you for your support!!