Brian and his wife Pieper Waitzel.

By Cecilia Levine From Daily Voice

For more than a year, Brian Waitzel's sudden death has remained a mystery.

But this week, his family finally has answers.

According to the New York Times, he 47-year-old Wall Township father of three and JetBlue pilot died of an allergy to red meat triggered by a tick bite. It's called alpha-gal syndrome, and Waitzel's death appears to be the first of its kind.

Waitzel's wife, Pieper, said she'd stumbled upon the illness years ago while reading the paper and drinking morning coffee on the back deck. She apparently told her husband, "You should read this," she said in an interview with The Times.

Brian Waitzel 

Brian Waitzel 

Pieper Brian Waitzel Facebook

The disease is carried by the lone star tick, which is populous in New York and New Jersey, and causes "intense" allergies to beef, pork, or lamb, according to the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms include hives, itching, swelling of the face, lips, throat, eyelids, or lips, wheezing/shortness of breath, stomach pain, diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting, Mayo Clinic says.

Waitzel's wife tells The Times that his symptoms started during a family camping trip in Lake George in August 2024, when he suddenly fell ill hours after eating dinner. He woke up in the middle of the night with intense pain, vomiting, and uncontrollable diarrhea. His wife apparently found him rolling on the tent platform in the rain, unable to speak or explain what was happening. But the episode ended as abruptly as it began, and by morning, he felt normal again, joining the family on a five-mile hike. 

Believing it was food poisoning, he decided not to seek medical care, The Times reports.

Two weeks later, on Sept. 3, 2024, after attending a barbecue at his daughter’s new high school and mowing the lawn at home, his wife noticed that his face looked puffy. While Pieper was out picking up their daughter, their 16-year-old son called to say Brian was violently ill in the bathroom. Suddenly, the noises stopped, and the boy went in and found his father unconscious, performing CPR until paramedics came. Waitzel died that night.

 University of Virginia-trained aerospace engineer, Waitzel "welcomed everyone," his obituary on the O'Brien Funeral Home website said, and was "immediately the friend you needed. Any problem was solvable. And Brian could solve anything. The adolescent built a backyard golf course. The father, a halfpipe in his basement. The gracious host, a wood-burning pizza oven.

"Brian’s home was yours, his doors always welcoming (even when neglecting to inform Pieper, especially of late-night Round Twos, or the alleged Round Four). “Annoyingly genuine”, Brian shook your hand and met your eyes, his warmth and attentiveness were palpable. He was constantly present; you were all that mattered in that moment, and every moment that followed. Never the life of the party, Brian Waitzel was its soul."

Click here for the full report from the New York Times and here for Waitzel's complete obituary.