Brian Lee Signorelli - III

Brian Lee Signorelli III, lovingly known as “Papa” by his family and “CT” by many of his friends and rugby family, was a sweet soul who loved hard, played hard, and cared deeply for the people around him.
His family began calling him Papa when he was only a baby, simply as a term of endearment. With two other Brian’s in the family, the name stuck. Papa became who he was to both sides of his family, and it is still the name spoken with love when they talk about him today.
Brian was the funny one in the family. He could make everyone laugh, even when things were serious and perhaps laughter was exactly what everyone needed. His humor filled a space in his family that remains deeply missed.
More than anything, Brian loved his people. He was incredibly close to his brothers and sister. No matter how old he got, he would still become genuinely excited to see them. He listened when they needed him, supported them when he could, and loved them deeply. His love for his parents, brothers, and sister ran through everything he did. As a son, he brought an immeasurable amount of love and joy into his parents’ lives.
That love extended far beyond his family. Throughout Brian’s life, friends and even people who began as strangers found a place with him when they needed friendship, family, or support. He cared about making the people around him feel loved. He wanted people to know they mattered.
Rugby became one of the great loves of Brian’s life. He threw himself into it completely, as he tended to do with anything that caught his interest. Before rugby there was baseball, football, wrestling, skateboarding, and whatever else he decided was worth trying. Getting hurt rarely discouraged him. Rugby itself began as something he decided to try and grew into a defining part of his life. Eventually, he found as much joy in helping and coaching others in sports as he did in playing them himself.
Brian was creative too. He loved music and learned to play the ukulele and guitar. He enjoyed painting, skateboarding, and building things. He made his career as a home builder and took special pride in being part of the construction of multimillion-dollar homes. There was something fitting about Brian helping create places for other families to call home.
He loved his dog, Tupac, immensely. He loved pizza with ranch. He could often be found in Vans, Bearcats gear, and cargo shorts. He loved the book Papillon. He once took the stage in a talent show as Napoleon Dynamite, which was exactly the kind of thing Brian would do. If an idea sounded interesting, he wanted to experience it.
One of his favorite sayings was, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” In many ways, it reflected how Brian lived. He loved being part of something, whether it was his family, his friendships, a rugby team, a building crew, or simply helping someone who needed another person beside them.
Brian lived with an openness to people and experiences. He laughed loudly, loved deeply, tried things without being afraid of looking foolish, and made room in his life for people who needed him.
To those who knew and loved him, Brian was Papa. He was CT. He was a son, a brother, a friend, a teammate, a builder, a coach, a musician, an artist, and someone who could make his family laugh when nobody else could.
Above all, Brian was a light to those who knew him.
That light remains.