Timothy Brennan Obituary, Death – Tim resided in Yankton, South Dakota, with his mother, brother, and maternal grandparents while his father was serving in the American Navy during World War II. After the war, Robert and his family relocated to Sioux City, Iowa, where Robert worked in the stockyards and co-founded Brennan Cattle Company with his three brothers. The family relocated to Freeport, Illinois when Tim was still in elementary school in order to buy and run a company feedlot in Lanark, Illinois.
As teenagers, Tim and his brother Jim frequently worked in the feedlot. Tim earned diplomas from Notre Dame University in 1963 and Freeport’s Aquin Catholic High School in 1959. He competed in boxing matches with the university’s Bengal Bouts and managed other students. And as a die-hard “”Fighting Irish”” supporter, his love of Notre Dame sports lasted his entire life! After receiving his degree, he spent a brief period of time working for Trans World Airlines before joining Brennan Cattle Company and selling feeder cattle throughout Northern Illinois and Wisconsin while operating out of a different Brennan Cattle feedlot in Kirkland, Illinois.
On March 26, 1966, Tim wed Hilary (née Adams), and the two made their home in Dekalb and Sycamore, Illinois, while Tim continued to work in the cattle industry. Tim relocated to Aurora, Illinois in 1972 to work as a commodity broker with Merrill Lynch, Lincoln Commodities, and then at RBH, Inc. as a partner and commodity trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He left the family business in the same year. Tim introduced numerous new, aspiring traders to the futures market throughout the course of his career.
He was chosen to serve on the CME Board of Directors and did so admirably as Chair of the Business Conduct Committee. Tim retired in 2003, but he worked alongside his son Rob to trade commodities online well into his late 70s. Tim was an ardent golfer and a longtime member of the Aurora Country Club. From 1999 to 2000, he chaired the board of directors. He wrote numerous letters of recommendation for club caddies who were awarded college scholarships from the Evans Scholars Foundation. He was on the capital campaign committee for Aurora Central Catholic High School and the board of directors for the Compassion Foundation for the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. He was a devout Catholic and involved in the Aurora community. Additionally, he gave generously to the Aurora University, Mercy Center for Health Care Services, Diocese of Rockford, other CME charities.