Community Celebrates Life Of Brandon Jenkins

After a seven-week search for 18-year-old Brandon Jenkins, including GoFundMe campaigns, flyers, and police investigation, his body was recovered from the Edgewood Park Duck Pond on Jan. 30 and identified on Feb. 5. Fifty family members, classmates, and community officials gathered to formally celebrate Jenkins’s life Saturday at a ceremony at Dixwell Avenue Congregational United Church of Christ.

Brandon was born and raised in New Haven. He attended Davis Street and Edgewood schools, and then graduated from High School in the Community (HSC) last year.

His loss hit the community hard after the extended search. (Foul play was not suspected in his death.)

Speakers remembered Jenkins for his kind heart. He volunteered his time at food banks throughout the city, went strictly vegan at age 15 for his love of animals, and had the ability to recognize whenever someone was in need of a friend.

His mom, Brenda Cuffy, and his sister, Brianna Jenkins, received a cross and heart pendant donated from the Hamden Memorial Funeral Home that held Brandon’s ashes before the ceremony began.

“He was such a phenomenal person,” Cuffy said, with tears streaming. ​“He’s going to be missed. I miss him.”

Bennett Streets (pictured), an employee of Hamden Memorial and family friend, placed the pendants on Jenkins’ mother and sister.

“His mother and the rest of us never stopped looking for him,” Streets said. “The very next day we were at the park searching.”

Aunt Bernice Cuffy said that their family immediately knew that something was wrong when he didn’t return home on Dec. 20.

“He was a loving person and funny,” Bernice said. “He was quiet, but he was not shy.”

HSC math teacher John Cornelius said Jenkins participated in extracurricular activities of all four years of high school.

“He was a part of a game club that I run for the students. If there was anything going on in terms of community service — he was right there,” Cornelius said. “He took part in organizing a team to run for the IRIS [Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services] run. He participated in the food distribution program that was held at the school. He did everything.”

During the service, HSC school culture leader Michelle Cabaldon read out Jenkins’ college essay to the crowd.

“After wasting countless hours of playing video games and procrastinating — I realized that I had to stop,” Cabaldon read. “I want to help to be able to provide for myself and to help my mom. How am I going to provide for myself if I have no focus or self control? How am I going to get projects done if I procrastinate? I’m not. You have to choose to change everyday, or your actions will forever suffer from your lack of action.”

HSC classmate and friend Thomas Sabin reflected on a time where Jenkins had dropped his phone in the toilet and replaced it with an AT&T flip phone.

“I was thinking to myself that we live in a world now where our cell phones are everything. I asked if he was going to get a smartphone,” Sabin. “He said to me, ‘Nah. Why would I put that kind of pressure on myself or on my mother, or anyone in my family to spend hundreds of dollars on a phone?’”

Another friend from HSC, Sadoc Clinton, said he considered Jenkins a brother but had never told him.

When he heard the news about Jenkins missing, Clinton went against what he had been advised by others, and searched from him at night in the woods with his step father.

“I knew that his bright light would shine in the woods if I looked,” Clinton said. ​“I used to see him everyday. I wasn’t ready for this moment. This hit too close to home.”

The Martin family said that Jenkins looked out for their son, Nick (at center in the phot), who is on the autism spectrum.

Nick’s father, Rick, who is a carpenter, spoke of creating a park bench to place at Edgewood Park in memory of Jenkins if the city permits. If not, Brenda Cuffy will be receiving the memorial.

“Brandon was an amazing friend to Nick at HSC. When Nick was having a bad day, Brandon always sought Nick out and made sure to always check in on him,” said Lynn, Nick’s mother.

“He wanted to make him laugh and talk about all things Marvel.”

Matt Brown, HSC’s now-former building leader, stated that the PTO at the school has decided to provide scholarships to future graduates in his memory.

“Brandon was involved in a lot of different community service efforts, he was everybody’s friend, and incredibly compassionate,” Brown said. ​“He was the first to ask if somebody was upset. He didn’t have a crowd. He was his own crowd.”

Reverend Dr. Frederick Streets closed the ceremony with prayer and a message that resonated in the church.

“There’s really no satisfying answers to the question, ​‘Why? Why Brandon? Why so young?’” Rev. Streets said.

“All we can understand is that everything living in the world has a life cycle.”