Colysta Brill

In Loving Memory of Colysta “Grammy” Craft

April 10, 1941 – August 31, 2026

Colysta Craft, also known over the years as Chris Shurian-Brill, but most affectionately known simply as “Grammy,” passed away peacefully on August 31, 2026, at the age of 85.

She was a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend, occasional neighborhood surveillance specialist, defender of proper grammar and table manners, and one of the funniest, feistiest, most opinionated women you could ever hope to meet.

She was also deeply loved.

Colysta was born April 10, 1941, in Yuma, Arizona, to Wanda June Rogers and Shields Bascom Craft. She was the youngest of three children and was preceded in death by her brothers, Shields B. “Buddy” Craft and Roger B. Craft.

During the war years, while Shields trained pilots for the war effort, Wanda, affectionately known as “Momere,” raised the children and ran a tight ship. She made certain her children learned politeness, proper manners, and how to behave themselves. Colysta apparently took those lessons very seriously because she spent the rest of her life making sure everyone around her learned them too.

After the war, the family moved to San Ysidro, California. Colysta enjoyed school and was an excellent student. She loved spelling bees and, like most children of her generation, could apparently find plenty of entertainment with a good game of hopscotch. At San Ysidro High School, she was an honor student and cheerleader.

By 1960, Colysta was attending Riverside City College while also working as a stewardess for her father’s airline. During the week she attended school, and on weekends she worked flights to Hawaii.

College during the week and Hawaii on the weekends. Not a bad gig for a young woman in 1960.

During this time she met and married fellow airline steward Gordon Whitmer. They welcomed her first child, Keith G. Whitmer, affectionately known as “Chuffer.” The marriage was short-lived, and Colysta soon found herself navigating life as a young single mother in Los Angeles.

In 1965, she married Scott Shurian, a successful broadcaster with ABC and KMPC. They made their home in Tarzana, California, and together their family grew with the arrival of Christofer Scott, Kelli Scot and Quinn Scott Shurian.

The family later moved to Northridge, California, where they lived for approximately eight years.

Those Northridge years were busy ones. With four young kids already in the house, Colysta’s brother Buddy showed up one day with his teenage children, Pam and Greg. He was dealing with some family difficulties and needed someone he trusted to take care of his kids for a while.

So Grammy did what Grammy did.

She made room.

Pam and Greg joined the household and became part of the chaos. Apparently four kids weren’t enough.

It was one of many examples throughout her life of something that came naturally to Colysta: when family needed her, she showed up. Her house might have been crowded, noisy and occasionally out of control, but there was always room for family.

Of course, managing that many children required a certain amount of discipline, and Colysta had a highly sophisticated parenting tool at her disposal:

The wooden spoon.

The wooden spoon became family legend. When the kids were being little shits, Grammy would grab it and the chase was on. Keith and Chris, who by their own admission were frequently little assholes, seem to remember being the primary targets.

Whether the spoon actually made contact nearly as often as family folklore suggests is debatable. The sight of Grammy coming around the corner wielding it, however, was usually enough to restore order.

Mostly.

Eventually, Colysta moved with the kids first to Thousand Oaks and then to Newbury Park.

During those years, she worked at Van Nuys Airport giving tours and also operated a successful travel agency with her brother Roger. Her children benefited from having a mother who worked around airplanes. She would take them to the airport, show them around, get them aboard planes and helicopters, and expose them to experiences most kids didn’t have. She even managed to meet President Gerald Ford along the way.

Then Colysta met Richard J. Brill.

To the kids, Richard became something of a knight in shining armor who came riding to the rescue.

Except his steed was a white BMW.

Richard was a mechanic, race car driver, pilot, and BMW aficionado, which apparently made him just crazy enough to fall in love with a woman who already had four children.

We’re still not entirely sure Rich understood what he was signing up for when he proposed.

The two married in a memorable ceremony aboard the Queen Mary and blended their families. Richard brought two children, Erik Jon Brill and Samantha Joy Brill, into the mix, giving Colysta the six children she would forever consider her family.

Their Newbury Park home became exactly what a family home should be: busy, loud, welcoming and regularly filled with kids, friends and whoever else happened to wander through the door. Family dinners were a fixture, featuring some of Grammy’s now-legendary gourmet specialties, including Shit on a Shingle, hot dog casserole, homemade lasagna and tacos.

Colysta loved having a gaggle of kids coming and going, and most of all her two most prized and spoiled companions, her little toy poodles, Bubba and Baby Sister.

She also continued the lessons her own mother had taught her. Proper table manners were not optional in Grammy’s house. We needed to know how to behave because, as she reminded us, we might someday be invited to dinner with the President, the King and Queen of England.

Our grammar was also constantly monitored and corrected. No mistake was too minor to escape her attention.

In 1990, tragedy struck when the plane Richard was flying with his partner went down in the North Atlantic. His body was never recovered, and he was later declared deceased. His loss was devastating to Colysta and the entire family.

The years that followed became another chapter in her adventure. She lived in Morro Bay, California; Seaside, Oregon; Payson, Utah; and eventually settled in Big Bear Lake, California, which she would call home for more than 20 years.

While living in Morro Bay, Colysta met James Vrooman. What began as a friendship became one of the most important relationships of her life. For more than 30 years, James was her best friend, companion and, in later years, her caretaker.

James passed away unexpectedly in 2023. His death was another heartbreaking loss for Colysta and ultimately brought her chapter in Big Bear Lake to a close when maintaining the cabin and living independently became too difficult.

She moved to Spring Gardens Senior Living in Mapleton, Utah, where, true to form, she quickly made friends and became part of the community.

After several years at Spring Gardens, the family decided it was time to bring Grammy home. She moved in with her son Chrissy (as she referred to him) and his wife Rachel, who is a saint and became her full-time caregiver. Rachel made sure Grammy was comfortable, well cared for, surrounded by family and, perhaps most importantly, had access to a seemingly endless supply of sweets & boxed wine.

Grammy also discovered another form of entertainment in her later years: the neighbors.

She loved keeping an eye on the neighborhood and was always interested in who was coming, who was going, what they were doing and, presumably, whether they were doing it correctly.

That was Grammy.

She was spunky, feisty, funny and opinionated. Once she got hold of an idea, good luck talking her out of it. She tended to either love something or hate it, and there was rarely much confusion about which category you fell into.

She wasn’t shy about sharing her opinion.

Ever.

She was the life of the party and made friends wherever she went. To say she was a “hoot” was an understatement. She could make you laugh, make you crazy, correct your grammar and tell you exactly what she thought, sometimes all in the same conversation.

But underneath all that fire was a thoughtful and loving mother who cared deeply about her family.

She helped shape six children into the people they became. Her family grew to include nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, and nothing mattered more to her than the people she loved.

Colysta was preceded in death by her parents, Wanda and Shields Craft; her brothers, Buddy and Roger; her husband Richard Brill; and her longtime companion and best friend, James Vrooman.

She leaves behind six children and their families: Keith G. “Chuffer” Whitmer; Christofer Scott & Rachel Shurian; Kelli Scot & Daniel Calderon; Quinn Scott & Buster Shurian; Erik Jon & April Brill; and Samantha Joy & Jason Coontz; along with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who will carry her stories, humor and spirit forward. Kacy & Kelsen Jones (Indian and Davy), Amy Shurian, Cody Shurian, Isaac and Karmen Wright, Marc and Megan Wright, and Jaron Wright. Cody Pickart and Sammy Pickart. Nichole Brill and Shane Brill. Cali Wies and Blake Coontz.

She lived a life with plenty of chapters. Some were exciting. Some were difficult. Some were heartbreaking. And many were downright funny.

Through all of them, she remained unmistakably Colysta.

We will miss her stories, her opinions, her laughter, her corrections, her stubbornness, her friendship and her love.

We were lucky.

We had a great mother.

So remember Grammy with a smile. Tell the stories. Laugh about the good times. Have dessert when you’re not supposed to and whip up a batch of Shit on a Shingle.

And for heaven’s sake…

Watch your grammar and mind your manners.

Condolences may be expressed to the family on this page.