Family and friends have paid tribute to a Forfar man with “a heart of gold”, after he died suddenly.
Bryce Murray, 21, was pronounced dead at an address in Forfar at around 8.30am, just two days after Christmas.
Bryce has been described as a loving son, brother, uncle, boyfriend and a supportive friend to many.
Growing up in Forfar, Bryce attended Whitehills primary school and later Forfar Academy.
After leaving school at 16, he went on to pursue a career in scaffolding with Enigma industrial services, where he became fully qualified in operations and rigging and had plans to work off-shore.
Throughout his life, Bryce was known as extremely athletic through his love for football and kickboxing, and has been remembered by friends and family for his drive and determination.
At 16, Bryce also developed a passion for the gym where he would train with his 35-year-old brother, Rudi Brechin.
“His grandad played a massive part in his life and he always said that grandad and me were like his dad,” Rudi said.
“He was keen, hard-working and just absorbed everything.
“It was all or nothing for Bryce and that’s why he was so committed to his work, he was fully qualified at 20-years-old, he loved the gym, he was in excellent condition for his age and loved his football.
“He talked about travelling to Australia and Canada, and that was in the pipeline that wasn’t just a dream, he was just saving the money up for that.
“He had plans, big plans.”
Role model and inspiration
As an uncle, Bryce was a role model to his 15-year-old nephew, Keenan Brechin, and his four-year-old niece, Clementine Brechin.
Rudi said: “There was only a six-year difference between Bryce and his nephew, so there’s a brother type of bond with the two of them and my son looks up to him like a brother – his style, how caring he was, giving he was, how polite he was.
“He was my son’s inspiration and role-model.”
Bryce’s mum, Caroline Murray, described her son as “one of a kind”.
“Our relationship was fantastic, he was a loving son, my little baby, my youngest,” Caroline said.
“He brought laughter and love into people’s lives. He was one of a kind.
“I don’t think he ever realised that he was loved by so many people but he really was.”
Chloe Brown, Bryce’s girlfriend, said he had made her the happiest she had ever been.
“He was just an amazing person, he gave his everything to everything he was doing and he was just so happy all the time, there was never a bad side to him,” Chloe said.
“It’s not often you meet someone and know in your heart that you want to spend the rest of your life with them, especially in the short time that we were together but it felt like I’d known him my whole life.”
Almost £10,000 raised for funeral
Chloe Laird, a friend of Bryce, set up a crowdfunding page to help raise money for his funeral.
Since it was launched, the fundraiser has raised almost £10,000 through hundreds of donations.
Bryce’s funeral will be at the Lowson Memorial Church in Forfar on Friday.
Caroline said the support from Bryce’s friends has helped their family get through this difficult time.
She said: “It has just blown me away, all the kindness and loving that people have showed.
“I don’t think he knew how many people cared about him, he would have been overwhelmed by it all.
“We’d like to say absolutely thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
“There are no words, we’ve just been absolutely amazed and we can’t thank Chloe enough for starting it.
“It has definitely helped us as a family get through, knowing we’ve got everybody backing us.”
‘Heart of gold’
Friends of Bryce have described the young man as a supportive friend who had a “heart of gold”.
Ben Starkay said: “He was the most genuine person who had a heart of gold, that’s what I loved about him.
“He put 100% into absolutely everything and was one of the most supportive guys.”
Bryce grew a strong bond with his friends through his love of football, which many now remember as fond memories of their friendship.
Gregg Matthews said: “When Bryce played for Montrose, he stayed at mine the night before, it was a Saturday night and we’d been out drinking.
“When we woke up in the morning he was spewing everywhere before a semi-final and I said there’s no way you’re playing – he ended up scoring a hat-trick and putting us in the final.
“No matter how he was feeling he always put everyone else in front of him.”
