Beloved Englewood Barber Is Remembered By Community

July 29, 2008A jazz brass band and a horse-drawn carriage were all part of the send off for Willie Brennon of Englewood, who died Thursday of congestive heart failure at the age of 72.Brennon opened his West Palisade Avenue barber shop back in 1962 and it was there that he became a friend and mentor to many. “He was always just lively, smiling, cracking jokes, and you could be ten or a hundred and he could always relate to you,” said Sheila Terry of Englewood. Brennon was a barber who received recognitions and awards from the Urban League of Bergen County and the New Jersey state legislature. “When I moved to this area, he was the first to cut my hair and over that 35-year period I found him to be a philosopher, a psychologist, a counselor, a spiritual advisor,” said longtime customer Herman Snyder. Those who turned out to mourn Brennon say he was so much more than just a barber and they say his shop was more than just a barber shop. It was a place where people would gather for friendship, fun, camaraderie, advice and to find out what was happening in the community. “They came here just to be with each other and be able to complain about things that were wrong and talk about things that were good. That was his barbershop,” said Arnold Christmas of Englewood