In Memoriam

Thank you for being that awesome and brilliant English teacher that we all want to be! Our department lost a legend. Thank you for your service, my friend.

In lieu of a picture, I have attached the one assignment that basically pulled me out of the comfort of my protective shell. And for that, I owe Mr. Braitsch a whole lot. He saw something in me, a quiet, ...

Will: you sassy, spritely man. I already miss your frankness and snark - you were a pleasure to hike, drink and ponder big ideas with. You were truly one of a kind. Love you.

Mr. Braitsch, your teaching style is like no other. As much as you scared and intimidated me, I can't say it has not shaped my writing style now. It still isn't the best, but it is better than before taking ...

My heart shattered the morning I found out such an amazing person was taken too soon. My condolences go out to all of his students whose hearts he has touched, and especially to his family as they have lost a ...

Happy 41st birthday to the guy who I miss every day. God, I miss you. The most random things make me think of you. I read a book recently called "OK Let's Do Your Stupid Idea" and at the end, ...

In honor of a friend and fellow teacher Will, just want to say thank you for all that you have done for all students at JCHS. I know we hardly talkin' but the few times we did you were always ...

Aloha Braitsch Ohana, My thoughts and prayers are with your family during this difficult time with the loss of Will. My family and I send our deepest condolences and love! Will was my AP English teacher back in 2009.

Aloha Braitsch ʻOhana, I give you all my condolences because I may have lost an amazing teacher. He was a son, cousin to others. It’s crazy to imagine I was looking forward to seeing him when he could actually go ...

Yes Will, I'm last minute yet again! This time it's different though. You're not there to give me some flack about it!! Haha! Will truly miss our times, my AP and former IB, friend. Thank you for being my friend ...

Every Tuesday, I had a HYPE club meeting and they always had pizza for the students. I told Mr. Braitsch about it once and on the weeks that followed, he would always ask for a slice. I told him he ...

I enjoyed my time as a friend with Willy B. He will forever be known as "Karate kid" to me. Back in 2009 / 2010 Willy B. was feeling really good at the end of a party night at Monterey's ...

Will once called me a succubus, which I kind of guessed the definition for but later I looked it up and found out it meant much worse! Haha, he was always one to make you think and I think ...

When Cheryl and I were dating long distance, Will used to tell me “What are you waiting for? Just move to Portland already!” I was in my late 30s, barely coming out of the closet. We had a lot of ...

Thank you for keeping in touch with me for all these years and for showing me what it truly means to care about others. Thanks for the laughs, thanks for the pep talks, and thanks for all those extra credit ...

English Department Heads commiserating over a stack of ungraded papers... As it was pointed out, no stacks to be seen! Me and Will, we became fast friends after he emailed me at school to share Kawehi Dodges's essay :) "Big ...

Braitsch I miss you so much man. We had just talked a couple weeks ago and you told me how you were doing better and moved to Kaneohe and wanted to hang out. I told you that if you needed ...

Hi, my name is Fiaava'e Leota. Besides helping me flourish as a student (which he tremendously helped with), he helped me flourish as a person as well. During my Junior year, four people that I knew passed away. People that ...

Mr. Braitsch, thank you for always engaging us, pushing us, and making us laugh in class. I’ve learned so much in your class and have never been so challenged in any of my high school courses. I’ll never forget you ...

Although my interactions with you were far and few, they were all very memorable. The one thing that totally comes to mind is that email you sent me (and yes, I have kept it all these years), you never knew ...

Being the quiet person that usually kept to himself, I remember how often Mr. Braitsch would call me out just so that he could hear me talk. Whenever I would present for weekly current event discussions, the questions I raised ...

If it wasn’t for Mr.Braitsch, I would still be carrying a heavy burden on my shoulders. He helped me realized that the way I was living was not the way to live and has gotten me the helped that I ...

I didn't know Mr. Braitsch very well, and I never really talked much in class but I knew Mr. Braitsch was a great teacher. He was funny, helpful, and very understanding. The best memory I have was from the first ...

I don’t know where to begin. Mr. Braitsch was LITERALLY my favorite teacher of all time. In the beginning of my junior year when I first started his class, his class challenged me so much it made me want to ...

Bill Braitsch was one of a kind. He was sharp, witty, and had a big heart. He cared deeply for his students, and took care of his colleagues. He has made an enormous impact on the lives of so many ...

Blessed are the pure at heart for they shall see God. Your family and William will be in my prayers.

I had the honor of having the one and only Mr. Braitsch as my English teacher during my senior year back in the fall of 2014. I remember my first impression of him was quite the opposite of how he ...

My deepest condolences for your immeasurable loss and I would like to express my sincerest sympathy. It's still unbelievably shocking... Mr. Braitsch was a teacher with a great sense of humor and whose sarcasm was always on-point. His methods as ...

Will, I only knew you for a short part of my life, however, it made a lasting impact. You accepted me for who I was and a friendship was formed. Funny how a Midwestern kid and a New Jersey kid ...

I started working at JCHS in 2012. At that time, and for a few years following, Will was my department head. One of my most memorable first impressions of Will was when I first started teaching, I mentioned to him ...

Thank you Mr. Braitsch for being my teacher and thank you for letting me be your TA. I am so grateful for the conversations we had. You're one of the reasons why I am in Boston, thousands of miles away ...

Mr. Braitsch has impacted me as a writer, student, and a person. He was unapologetically himself in all situations. He was honest with everyone about his thoughts and opinions; especially on the one occasion he said that my eye shape ...

When I first met Will on his first day at Campbell, I thought he was an admin because of his signature suit and tie. Over the years, I got to know him - sarcastic, abrasive, and blunt. But he was ...

It is still hard to believe that Mr. Braitsch passed away. About a week prior to finding out, he had just posted on his facebook a quote from one of his current students that a lot of us are needing ...

Will, You left the world too soon. I hope you know that you are missed by so many people. I remember the time we met and talked for the first time on campus. We talked about Japan! And I still ...

There are no words to truly describe Mr. Braitsch. I am a solid believer that you had to experience what he was like in person to truly understand what he was like. It's devastating that future students won't be able ...

Mr. Braitsch was an amazing teacher who really helped out my sister. He also really helped me even though he only taught my class for a month. His jokes always made the end of the day better and he was ...

“Better than I found it.” In the first week of school, we all had to do our obligatory introductions, and I included a saying that was extremely significant to me. However, in the context of Braitsch, he definitely left a ...

Hola Braitsch familia, My deepest condolences to you all. Mr.B, as I used to call him, was my favorite teacher of all time. The lessons that were taught & the memories that were made in that class will stay with ...

This picture is from one of the many fun and crazy nights out with Will. He was always the life of the party and got all of us having a good time! I can remember many years ago when our ...

To my last English teacher during my senior year. I’m still shocked that he is no longer with us doing what he loved the most which was inspiring students to succeed in the real world on the time of our ...

RIP Mr. Braitsch, I wanted to show you & your Ohana my beautiful family, because of you & your awesome fun class I would want to teach them the things you taught me, be tough on them like how you ...

I can't recall the exact year, but Will started working at Campbell about 2 school years after me, so I worked with him his entire time at our school. He taught English and I taught math and when you work ...

Most people encounter that one teacher they will never forget. Mr. Braitsch was mine. He taught his students about life under the guise of teaching them AP English. I only hope to experience his guiding spirit again in the next ...

English was not my favorite subject in school, so I thought about switching out of Will's class the minute I saw his name on my schedule. I decided to just try it out the first couple weeks and If I ...

I remember getting assigned to Mr. Braitsch English class my Senior year of High School. I was terrified. I had seen him around school before and always thought he was super intimidating... even though he was shorter than me haha.

I’ve just heard the sad news of Mr. Braitsch passing and want you to know that our thoughts and prayers are with you. Mr. Braitsch was one of the most realist teachers I’ve ever had. He has influenced me to ...

I will always remember his lesson on Plato's Cave (https://youtu.be/d2afuTvUzBQ), paying attention to the details that writers portray (i.e. the food stuck in between a supposedly clean fork), how we are bodies carrying around a brain, how he was able ...

This photo is the only picture that I have with him and a couple of my old classmates. I'm the girl sitting down on the bottom row. I just wanted to say that Mr. Braitsch was an extraordinary teacher who ...

One of his great attributes was how he held himself as a Saber family member. He will always be fondly remembered as a great teacher, mentor, counselor and truly a great friend. To his loving Ohana we send ...

I don't know what brought Will to the islands, but I know why he stayed. The islands possess a beauty, and a lot of it. Even though he was from NJ, he embraced our culture and showed aloha. He was ...

I remember taking a bathroom break to save me from the embarrassment of Mr. Braitsch reading my paper aloud to the class. I was afraid of how harsh his criticism would be. I came back to find that I was ...

My condolences for the passing of Mr Braitsch. I wish I could have thanked him for all he did for me. Mr Braitsch was my AP British Lit teacher. I'm sure you'll hear plenty of stories of the first ...

Mr. Braitsch! One of the greatest, he made such a huge impact on the education of hundreds of students. I still remember the fear of the first day of AP English when our essays were crumpled up and thrown into ...

I didn't know Mr. Braitsch as well as many other students, but there's no denying he was one of my favorite teachers of all time. One of my best memories of him was the very beginning of school, he looked ...

Braitsch, I’m still in shock. You we’re truly one of a kind! I’m one of the few that was able to have you as a teacher in high school, who turned into a co-worker (which you told me that was ...

I took this pic of Bill and Jill in his parents backyard during the Brookdale days... This is really the time period I think of most when I think of Bill, even more than when we lived together in Baltimore.