Jeremy John Brigham, 82, of Cedar Rapids, passed away on July 27, 2026, at Cottage Grove Place. Visitation will begin at 10:00 followed by a memorial service at 11:00 Saturday August 8, 2026, at Brosh Chapel and The Avacentre located at 2121 Bowling St. SW in Cedar Rapids.

Jeremy was born on October 2, 1943, in Concord, MA, the son of John Winthrop and Anna Louise (Dege) Brigham. He spent part of his childhood in Sioux City, IA and then in Burlington, IA, where his father was a Unitarian minister. During his high school years, the family lived near Boston, MA, where his father worked for the Unitarian Universalist Association. Jeremy graduated from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, OH, with a B.A. in philosophy and religion. It is there that he met his wife of 60 years, Selma Dannenfelser Brigham. They were married at First Unitarian Church in Louisville, KY on June 19,1966. After graduation, they moved to Chicago, where Jeremy earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Meadville Lombard Theological School.

His first ministry was at Valley Unitarian Church in Tempe, AZ. He then served as minister at First Unitarian Church in Cincinnati, and after that, he came to Cedar Rapids, where he was minister at People’s Church Unitarian Universalist.

After the years in ministry, Jeremy decided to pursue his interest in geography and social justice, and earned a PhD. In human geography from the University of Iowa. During this time, he was in the vicinity of a campus mass shooting. That experience propelled him into a crusade against gun violence everywhere, but focusing mostly on Iowa. He was a founding member of what is now known as Iowans for Gun Safety. Jeremy taught geography as adjunct instructor at Kirkwood Community College for several years and developed a course on the geography of Iowa. While there, he also worked with international students. Jeremy was interested in world peace, especially in the Middle East. He traveled to Israel, Palestine, and Jordan along with other Unitarian Universalists and met leaders in the area.

Other organizations close to his heart were the United Nations Association of Linn County, the African American Museum of Iowa, The Interfaith Alliance of Iowa, and Peoples Church UU. He joined a group from First Presbyterian Church of Cedar Rapids in cooperation with Habitat for Humanity and along with, his daughter, Sophie, helped build a house in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. He also sang in the choir at First Presbyterian until he could no longer do so.

Jeremy loved his family and took great pride in all their accomplishments. He is survived by his wife, Selma, brothers Larry (Mary) Brigham of Cincinnati, OH and Daniel (Donna) of Canandaigua, NY, his children Emily Brigham of Iowa City, Elizabeth (Mark) Smejkal of Cedar Rapids, and Sophie (Bill) Nicholson of Casa Grande, AZ. He also leaves behind eleven grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

In Lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Peoples Church UU, Iowans for Gun Safety, Linn County UNA-USA, the African American Museum of Iowa, or Interfaith Alliance of Iowa.