Brycen John Cessnun

Brycen John Cessnun, age 27, died unexpectedly on March 31, 2023.

He was born in Medford on August 18, 1995 to Brenda Watson and David Cessnun. Brycen attended Orchard Hill Elementary in Phoenix before his family moved to Brookings. There, he attended Azalea Middle School and graduated from Brookings Harbor High School in 2014.

After high school, Brycen attended Chemeketa Community College in Salem for a year before returning to the Rogue Valley, where his family had returned to live. He enjoyed working construction as well as the Home Depot in Phoenix.

Brycen’s first love was his family; but wrestling was a close second. He started wrestling at age 5 with the lofty goal of one day becoming an Olympian. We have many wonderful memories of his meets, and will always remember him sweating on a treadmill, wearing a sweatshirt and wrapped in Saran wrap, trying to make weight. If you knew Brycen, you know that he wasn’t big on losing or quitting. But in high school a knee injury forced him to abandon his dreams of Olympic glory.

Brycen loved the outdoors. Many of Brycen’s best memories were made on or near the Rogue River fishing, hiking and rafting with his family. Brycen also loved spending time on the Chetco River with cousin Rykken, and friends Brandon, Zach, Levi, Shane, and Hunter.

BMX biking was another of Brycen’s passions. His trip to watch the X Games is a memory he cherished. He enjoyed traveling –whether it was around the world or on road trips with family and friends. Brycen also truly appreciated the time he spent gaming. He loved playing Xbox until VR came out. He ended up becoming a professional at VR when his brother Budda convinced him to start uploading his videos to TikTok.

One love we cannot explain was Brycen’s love for his old 1994 Honda Civic, which he helped rebuild with his dad. We tried many times to get him to abandon it for a newer truck with an automatic transmission. He would not. Add loyalty to Brycen’s list of good qualities that we will miss terribly.

Brycen was a sweet, gentle soul who could also make anyone laugh. If anyone ever needed help, he was there without complaint. Brycen never asked for anything for himself. It breaks our hearts to know that he was hurting and did not feel like he could ask us for help when he so desperately needed it.

Brycen is survived by his mother Brenda, and stepfather Jim Watson of Medford. His dad, David Cessnun of Phoenix, OR. His beloved siblings: Neil Watson of Pistol River, OR; Nichole Cessnun of Dallas, OR; Cassidy Reilly of London, England; Skyler Deskins of Brookings. And Colby Deskins and Budda Deskins of Medford. And his grandparents: Sherry Cessnun of Phoenix, OR; Colleen Mercer of Nucla, CO; and Robert and Evelyn Watson of Medford.

A celebration of Brycen’s life will be held at 1pm on Saturday, April 29th at the Historic Ashland Armory at 208 Oak St, Ashland, OR 97520. Please bring your stories and memories to share of our beloved Brycen.

Among Brycen’s last wishes was that some of his ashes be spread on a spot where he could enjoy a decent view. We will follow those wishes and take him for a hike up Roxy Ann one final time. The rest of his ashes will be interred in an urn at Siskiyou Memorial Park in Medford. There, his ashes will be mixed with dirt to grow a Japanese Maple to shade a bench we can all visit to remember our beautiful son, grandson, brother, and friend.