BRUNSWICK – Brandon Steven Crouse, 18, died in an automobile accident on Sept. 18 in Brunswick.

He was born Dec. 13, 1986, in Portland, the son of Steven and Shelby (Schmersal) Crouse. He graduated from Brunswick High School in 2005 and was attending the University of Southern Maine.

Some lives are like slow burning stars that glow bright, dim over time and then go out. Brandon’s life was much more like a comet that burst into the sky, raced through our galaxy spreading happiness and then disappeared in an unexpected, heart-breaking instant.

Mere words do a poor job of encompassing all that he was in his 18 years: pampered child; creative writer; music lover; mischief maker; little league slugger; avid fisherman; soccer, basketball and lacrosse player; fierce all-star defensive end on a championship Brunswick High School football team; mariner and lover of the sea; well traveled; computer game whiz; gifted person who could drive his teachers crazy with his inattention; quiet, hard-working young man; loving kid brother; proud cousin and uncle; and devoted son and grandson.

He is survived by his parents, Steven and Shelby Crouse, of Brunswick; sister, Kellie Chasse, and her husband, Larry, of Brunswick; brother, Don McQuade, and wife, Stephanie, of Sedona, Ariz.; nephews, Camden Chasse and Hunter McQuade; maternal grandmother, Christine Schmersal of Mexico; paternal grandmother, Necia Crouse of Crouseville; special uncle, Gary Schmersal of Melbourne, Fla.; and uncles, aunts and cousins.

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