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William Joseph “Bill” Brennan IV of Bala Cynwyd, PA, age 61, passed away at home on April 4th after a long struggle with cancer. He was surrounded by his family. Bill was born in New York City to Georgiana Franklin Brennan and William J. Brennan III. When he was five, his family moved to Princeton, NJ, a town he loved throughout his life. Bill was a graduate of Princeton Day School and Georgetown University. He grew up in a family of lawyers—his grandfather, William J. Brennan Jr., served on the U.S. Supreme Court and his father headed the New Jersey Bar Association in the mid-80’s. Both were thrilled that “Billy” followed in their footsteps, pursuing his JD at Georgetown Law. After law school, Bill signed on with Philadelphia firm Dilworth Paxson, then moved to Pepper Hamilton where he became a partner. In 2016, he created Brennan Law Group and enjoyed running his own practice. In his personal life, Bill was fiercely loyal to those he loved. He met his wife, Laura Muzzi, in college. They started dating a few years after graduating and married in 1993. Over their nearly four decades together, Bill and Laura mostly agreed, mostly fought fair, learned how to listen better, teased each other, and no matter what, had each other’s backs. As Neve and Meg’s dad, Bill struck a balance between giving his daughters structure and freedom, with lots of fun and roughhousing mixed in. With Neve, he shared a reserved nature and competitive spirit, especially on the tennis court and at Eagles games. Meg and Bill bonded over music and edgy British crime dramas but never could agree on whose taste was superior. He was so proud of the young women his daughters became and told them so frequently. Bill kept friends for decades, getting together with his high school and college buddies for dinner or beach weekends. He and Laura remained close to the "Mamas and Daddies," friends they bonded with when they were all sleep-deprived young parents raising kids in Philly's Fairmount neighborhood. Despite being an introvert, Bill was a real joiner. A happy day for Bill meant playing tennis and having a cocktail (Beefeater dirty martini, up with olives) with friends at Germantown Cricket Club or skeet shooting with his pals at the Nassau Gun Club in Princeton, where he’d served as president. All of these friends showed up for him in a million ways during his illness. What else is there to say about our dear Bill? Many people, including his daughters and his mother, sought him out as a confidante. He gave solid advice and told you the truth, even when you didn’t want to hear it. If you asked him to keep something private, he put it in the vault. Bill’s dry wit and talent for finding just the right word shone through whether he was giving a toast or just shooting the breeze. While he enjoyed vacations in Montreal, Nantucket and Cape Cod, he loved home best. On any given Saturday morning, Bill settled into his scratched up leather chair, listening to WIP sports radio and doing the crossword. If The Office happened to be on tv (as it always seemed to be), he’d watch that too. He loved having people over. In fall, he built a fire the minute the temperature dropped below 50 degrees and cooked a pot of his spicy spaghetti. In summer, he threw what his friends dubbed “Billy B’s Backyard BBQs” where he lit up the Big Green Egg (his favorite Christmas gift of all time) and grilled his world-famous pizza or ribs. No matter the season, when he was ready for the party to end, he clapped his hands and guests knew it was their cue to skedaddle. Probably the most important thing to know about our Bill was that he cared deeply about character, honesty, and fairness, and he did his best to live by his values. Bill was pre-deceased by his father, sister Alexandra Brennan, cousin Jim Brennan, aunts Nancy and Mary Brennan, and parents-in-law, Una and Basil Muzzi. He will be dearly missed by his wife Laura, daughters Neve and Meg, mother Georgiana, uncle Hugh Brennan, sister-and-brother in law, Michele and Paul Dorsey, nieces Allison and Katie Dorsey, cousin Ninie Norris as well as Brennan, Faherty, and Casey cousins. All are invited to visit with the family on Friday, May 1st at the Church of St. Asaph in Bala Cynwyd from 9:30-11am. Memorial service will begin at 11. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Brennan Center for Justice to support its Voting and Elections program. Disclaimer: If Bill were reading this obituary, he would probably think it was too long, too full of praise (he shooed away compliments), and too sentimental, but for those of us who love him, there are not enough paragraphs to do him justice.

Tributes

William Joseph "Bill" Brennan

August 17, 1964 - April 4, 2026