Brian James Messina

Brian James Messina, age 26, of Cary, NC, died on November 6, 2021 of a drug overdose while traveling in Colombia, South America.

A 2018 summa cum laude graduate of North Carolina State University, Brian completed a double major in Psychology and Sociology with a minor in Spanish.

Brian is loved by countless family members, friends, students, and fellow travelers across the country and around the world. Passionate about travel, languages, and other cultures, Brian most recently explored Vietnam and Ecuador while teaching English and working as a freelance writer.

Brian was complex. He was funny, kind, super smart, witty, sarcastic, introverted, and sometimes exuberant. Brian made us laugh, and he made us think.

Brian is survived by his parents, Jim and Suzanne Messina of Cary, NC; his sisters, Caitlin and Stephanie Messina of Cary, NC; his grandparents, Jim and Karin Messina of Mansfield, MA, Judy Mellor of Apex, NC, and David Rulison of St. Augustine, FL; his uncle Stephen Messina of Quincy, MA; his aunt Katherine Messina of Northampton, MA; his aunt Heidi Karl and uncle Kevin Karl of Jacksonville, FL; and his cousins, Adam Karl and Lydia Karl of Orlando, FL.

Brian was preceded in death by his grandfather Ken Pierce.

A celebration of Brian’s life is planned for Saturday, December 4, 2021 at 2:30 pm at the Herbert C. Young Community Center, 101 Wilkinson Ave. in Cary, NC. All are welcome to attend.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the following organization that was important to Brian: Healing Transitions - A Place for Recovery of Raleigh, NC at https://healing-transitions.org/donate/.