On May 17th, Brian Shortsleeve, founder of Cape Cod Life Publications, left behind his Cape Cod life, after a long illness. Those of us fortunate enough to be part of Brian’s work family—past and present—honor his long and illustrious stewardship of this quintessential Cape Cod company, which has grown, entertained, and endured for more than four decades.

If you are a writer and the words flow, your thoughts flying off the page like a boat’s sails filling with strong wind, it is a joy ride. 

Brian Shortsleeve, and so many of us who were lucky enough to work for his fleet of magazines, shared that joy in nearly 50 years of publications, giving readers evocative stories and stunning photography that clearly established a “sense of place” and brought Brian’s beloved Cape and Islands to readers everywhere. It was one marvelous voyage for all of us… and an incredible accomplishment for the man at the helm.

Upon hearing the news that Brian passed away, many of those former and current employees have said that their job at the magazine was the highlight of their career—even those who went on to work for bigger companies with more critical responsibilities say their time working for him was the best ever, or that their eventual success was directly related to their days working with Brian. I know it was certainly the job I loved the most.

One of Brian’s greatest gifts to the scores of people who worked for him—not just the writers and editors, but the sales representatives, the designers, the office staff, and the administrators, was that he let you set your own course. He gave you access to the wind, the sea, and the sky and sent you off to sink or swim. He nearly always allowed you complete freedom to see things your way—which was such a unique and incredible gift, especially to the independent-minded folk who are usually attracted to the publishing business. 

Nancy Berry, a former Cape Cod Life Publications (CCL) editor and current editor of Ocean Home, Northshore, and Northshore Home, says it perfectly, “As the publisher, Brian really trusted the editorial process and let us do our jobs.”

For all of us fortunate enough to have been part of the sprawling CCL family, Brian’s passing is a little like losing sight of a lighthouse, an icon he loved and chose to emblazon on the company’s logo. We have been cast adrift a bit, as our course adjusts for ports ahead. 

What we absolutely know is that our words, our images, and our shared reflections of those days with Brian at the tiller are still out there—bound in cherished collections, piles stored on bookshelves, years of issues arrayed on coffee tables, held safe in closets for generations to enjoy.

We will all miss you, Brian. As you so often said… “Please, and thank you.” And I hope these words capture your sense of place. 

Susan Dewey, Cape Cod LIFE and Cape Cod HOME editor and associate publisher, 2009-2016; freelance writer, 2016-2025.

The response from around the globe regarding the loss of Brian has been overwhelming from so many employees, readers, clients and friends. It seems only fitting to share some of the remembrances from individuals who connected with Brian through the years as he navigated his way through almost five decades of creating what is known as Cape Cod LIFE.

“Brian had a knack for hiring some of the most talented people I have met in my career. We had so much fun!” recalls Nancy Berry, managing editor of Cape Cod LIFE from 1996-1999, and editor of Cape Cod HOME from 2005-2010. “At CCL, it felt like we were a sisterhood—and a brotherhood of sorts, too. I have maintained lifelong friendships with many of these editors, salespeople, administrators, accountants, graphic designers, and production staff who I worked with after being hired. And I still work with many of the writers and editors who worked with me at Cape Cod Life. To this day, we call ourselves ‘Lifers.’

“I was still in my 20s when Brian offered me the job. I learned so much during this time and even went back in 2005 to edit Cape Cod HOME. As the publisher, he really trusted the editorial process and let us do our jobs and I will forever be grateful for this time.”

Donna Murphy, whose time at the company spanned more than 15 years and several titles culminating in associtae publisher, shares poignant memories. “I moved to Cape Cod in 1985—the same year I was hired by Cape Cod Life. Brian and I shared a passion for photography, and he assured me that one day I would be choosing the magazine’s covers, so I took the only job that was available—circulation assistant. Little did I know that the path to the art department would involve positions in the distribution, advertising, and production departments.

“As an art major, I had no business experience, but Brian always had confidence in my abilities and mentored me throughout my various roles. And yes, I eventually became the art director. My fondest memories were when Brian and I would narrow down the cover selections and then gather the staff together to make the final decision.

“CCL was not just my first job—it became my family. I will always be grateful to Brian for creating a work environment where friendships could form and flourish. Many of my oldest and dearest friends that are still in my life today were Cape Cod ‘Lifers.’ Brian was also our cheerleader, both in and out of the office. He shared our celebrations, but also stood by our side during difficult times. When my husband was diagnosed with cancer, Brian immediately called his brother, a Boston physician, for a second opinion. He was always looking out for his work family and would do whatever he could to help.

“I owe Brian a million thanks for letting me be a small part of his dream—for the memorable sails to Cuttyhunk on The Lady Carline, and for all the laughs, long talks, and rum and Cokes along the way.”

As a former Cape Cod LIFE editor and current freelance contributor, Greg O’Brien shares eloquent thoughts. “Brian Shortsleeve had the heart of a poet, the vision of a literary prophet, and a soul fully rooted in this narrow stretch of land he so loved. Brian faithfully followed his passion, and on his journey, through Cape Cod LIFE, he painted word pictures with the grace of a master. I’ve known Brian for decades from my years as a career journalist locally and nationally, and a frequent contributor to Cape Cod LIFE and Cape Cod HOME. There is no equal in the Cape Cod media, present or past. And all of us are better for it. Excellence is not easy to achieve; one has to work at it with great commitment. And in that, Brian was a consummate pro! I believe Brian’s legacy is in defining a sense of place worthy of all of us to protect, as one of his headlines affirmed—‘The overwhelming power of natural beauty.’”

Laura Reckford who served as managing editor for five years in the 1990s says, “After 10 years in New York City working in the movie and publishing industries, I was looking to move to New England. I will be forever grateful to Brian Shortsleeve for opening my letter and resume and contacting me for a job at CCL. I began the job during a snowy February in 1994. Brian was the leader of an office filled with very talented and spirited employees. It was a fun environment bustling with creativity. We were in, what was until recently, the Daily Brew building in Cataumet. Many of us were in cubicles in the attic space—very cozy!

“I always appreciated Brian’s deep knowledge of and passion for the Cape and Islands; his daring to launch new projects; his business acumen; and, perhaps most of all, his sense of humor. The fact that he kept the magazine going all these years with the changes in the publishing industry is remarkable. He was truly an ambassador of this region.”

Julie Wagner, the current associate publisher recalls the left turn her life took with hardly any warning. “I started with Cape Cod Life Publications in 2010 as a sales person. Brian, as with so many other sales people through the years, shared his passion for the magazine with me at every encounter, which easily allowed all of us to convey that sense of inclusion to the advertisers. Yet, he also held all of us to very high standards. The family of advertisers and readers always occupied the highest priority, and that is something Brian never let any of us forget. It was that kind of symbiotic relationship that informed my next challenge in the organization as I became an editorial liaison in 2016, and ultimately editor of all the titles in 2018.

“Brian encouraged me to connect the stories we told with the readers and advertisers he recognized as being on the journey with us. I had never ventured into the world of writing or editing at the time, and my trepidations were immediately dismissed by Brian who said, ‘You are doing the job, you should proudly accept the title.’ It was with that investment of confidence that Brian gave me the opportunity to explore a new set of challenges I had never dreamed of. I am often heard exclaiming that I never saw the exit ramp for a new direction coming in my career, yet I have never been more professionally or personally fulfilled than I am now.

“I credit Brian for completing my definition of self, at least so far in my life. He has also taught me to pursue what interests me, so who knows where that will take me in the years to come. Wherever that is, I know he will always be in my heart for the journey.”

Brian’s ability to coax the best out of his editors was also a gift he shared with his sales people. Starting his own business career in advertising sales, Brian understood that the relationship between the product that was produced, and the businesses whose support enabled mutual success was one of monumental importance; a lesson he impressed upon his sales force on a daily basis. 

Elizabeth Kellick, a successful sales manager for years in the 1980s and 1990s, says her CCL experiences are still bright memories. “I am proud to say that I was one of Brian Shortsleeve’s early hires at Cape Cod Life Publications. I met him in Boston where I was working two jobs after college, trying to get into the advertising field. At night, I was working as a waitress in a Chestnut Hill restaurant. Brian was there as a customer and I told him I was in love with Cape Cod LIFE, and that I was saving issues! He mentioned that the company was hiring, and next thing I knew, I was driving down to Osterville to interview with him.

“Brian offered me a position, which I was beyond thrilled about, however it was for straight commission with no benefits. But the corporate job I had in Boston was not doing it for me. I had an innate curiosity, and an entrepreneurial spirit, which to be honest was not really awakened until I worked for Brian. That decision changed my life, and I learned the benefits of hard work. After Cape Cod Life, I had a very successful career at blue chip publishing companies, including Conde Nast, Hearst, Hachette Filipacchi, Rodale and others. I really attribute my experience at CCL to being instrumental in my success and I always thanked Brian for this.

“At Cape Cod Life, you had to be tenacious in sales. It was a competitive business arena on the Cape and Islands, and the local industry was watching Brian closely. He just took it all in stride, and never showed a moment of concern about the competition. I have great memories of CCL during the company’s 10th year anniversary and the pride we all felt to be a part of it. Brian would take us out on his boat sometimes to have our ‘sales meetings’ on Cuttyhunk Island, where we would share ideas for future issues, projects and more. Mostly, I know I share with former colleagues and old friends how blessed we all were to have worked for and be inspired by the visionary and entrepreneur that was Brian Shortsleeve.” 

“My ‘Cape Cod life’ started in 1991, when I moved to my husband’s hometown of Orleans, newly married, and knowing very little about this special place,” Robin Thayer, sales manager from 1991-2010 remembers. “How lucky was I to interview with my still-longtime friend Donna Murphy and land a job in sales at a magazine called Cape Cod LIFE. This small staff quickly became family with Brian at the helm, who boasted with pride and love for this magical place. He was fiercely loyal to those of us who dedicated our time and efforts to the magazine’s success. He always had funny anecdotes, motivating the sales staff with the ‘I’m sorry, your job is not to lead the horse to water to make him drink. Your job is to make the horse thirsty, so that he asks you for a drink,’ or ending every sales meeting with, ‘Please and thank you.’

“For the two decades, I worked for him—through having my children, through a good economy, through a bad economy, and many other life challenges, Brian continued to be a calming force with his true belief that his publication provided something people who love this area wanted and needed. In my tenure, it was my privilege to work for him, meeting people that I will never forget and gaining a true love for this beautiful sandbar—for that I truly thank him.”

CCL’s current sales manager Laura Taylor, whose tenure is second only to Brian’s reflects, “I’m a washashore, having been born in the Midwest and raised in Falmouth since I was four years old. As a teenager, I moved to California and spent 14 adventure-filled years before returning to Falmouth in 1991 to start my next chapter. I was a West Coast subscriber to Cape Cod LIFE and noted there was a house for sale advertised in the magazine’s real estate section. We took a trip to see it, bought it, and moved to North Falmouth. The house happened to be within a two-mile radius of Brian’s home.

“Before I met Brian 33 years ago, I met his beloved sloop, The Lady Carline—she was laying precariously in someone’s yard near the road leading to Amrita Island. Hurricane Bob had displaced her and it was my first introduction to a major storm and to seeing a helicopter rescue a very large sailboat. About six months later I met Brian when he hired me and was inspired by his vision and became fueled by his persistence to do my job well. I am grateful that Brian had the foresight to pursue his dream of a Cape Cod life.

“Brian embraced the Cape’s cool breezes and basked in the pleasure of many sunny days. He became a Cape character in his own right, and it’s been quite a ride to be aboard for all these years. My wish for him and everyone who has ever been part of the CCL family is, ‘Fair Winds and Following Seas.’”

Laura Crocker (the “other Laura”) has been with Cape Cod Life Publications for almost 30 years. She says, “I started with CCL in 1996 as a marketing assistant, but quickly moved into sales. Brian already had years of experience and knew best where employees would succeed. He gave many people over the years the opportunity to do what they do best. He used to write to me, and I’m pretty sure to many other employees, to say, ‘Thank you for all you do.’ Brian understood gratitude. You saw every day that he was grateful for his family living on the Cape, for the company’s employees, the magazine’s readership, and the businesses that supported his passion for Cape Cod Life.  Brian, thank you for all you did!”

Brian’s commitment to the advertisers was more than a business relationship for most. As Paul Rifkin explains, “My relationship with Brian began in 1992, three years after my lady, Ellen Mycock, and I founded the Moonakis Cafe, a breakfast-lunch restaurant in Waquoit. The connection between the restaurant andCape Cod LIFE was the charmingly persuasive, advertising sales manager Laura Taylor. We found Laura’s professional, honest, and kind manner to mirror that of her employer’s, Brian Shortsleeve. We were happy to purchase advertising space in what was then, and is now, the Cape’s classiest publication.

“Over the years my relationship with Brian deepened as many photographs I submitted were published in the magazine (including on the cover) and in the yearly calendar. The wonderment of our time together continued when Brian, his son Josh, and I took a tour in my friend’s helicopter around our glorious peninsula in April of 2016. I was so happy that many of the photos that Josh and I took on that magical carpet ride in the sky were published in the magazine, often illustrating the changing shape of the Cape and Islands.

“It was an honor and always a pleasure to have shared a relationship over several decades with Brian Shortsleeve. Connecting with Brian both artistically and professionally was always smooth sailing. I am sure that he is presently gunk’holing on high.” 

J. Miller, a Mashpee business owner reflects, “I met Brian almost 50 years ago, sometime before the launch of Cape Cod LIFE. I, too, was in the media business. I was immediately drawn to his soothing demeanor and easy curiosity about pretty much any topic that surfaced in conversation. No wonder a pillar of his publishing achievements was so centered around curiosity, listening, and engaging in conversation. He’s been a customer, a collaborator, a vendor, and a friend. We didn’t cross paths all that much in recent years. But when we did, the conversations would simply pick up again as they always did. I will miss that. And him.”

Through the years Brian’s close relationships with advertisers deepened significantly. Bill Zammer, the legendary local restaurateur, counted the Shortsleeves among his close friends—a relationship born out of business and fostered through warmth and shared passions. Ralph Cataldo, founder of Cataldo Builders in Falmouth was also counted as one of the closest friends the Shortsleeve family enjoyed. Much of their camaraderie was anchored in their shared time on Cuttyhunk—a place both men loved deeply. And of course, the Shortsleeves had a special relationship with Sean Brock, the builder whose efforts were chronicled regularly in Brian’s Gunk’holing column as Brock built Brian and Judy’s dream home on the shores of Cataumet.

Brian made sure the support staff at CCL were pivotal to the company’s success. Robert Ostergaard, who was Brian’s first assistant starting in 1995 recalls, “It’s not easy launching a journalism career, especially in a small community like Cape Cod, and especially when you’re 25 years old, have no experience, and can’t even type. But luckily for me, Brian Shortsleeve took a chance and hired me anyway. At Cape Cod Life, I joined a family of kind and talented people who all shared Brian’s boundless love for the Cape and Islands. What is Cape Cod LIFE, after all, but an ongoing, collective love letter to this special place?

“With great humor and even greater patience, Brian taught me about publishing, business, and writing. And through his example, Brian taught me that we can—and we must—build our careers and our lives out of our passions and our dearest joys. For this and much more, I’ll always be grateful Brian Shortsleeve took a chance on the kid who couldn’t type.”

Liz Flynn who kept the CCL books for almost a decade says, “I worked for Brian for nine years. Brian always appreciated a good joke and when I had one, I enjoyed telling it to him. Brian knew I loved animals and was a dedicated foster mom for some Cape shelters. I would bring kittens to the office for ‘kitten day.’ Brian would come to the office and see a kitten playing with a pencil on someone’s desk, or a kitten fast asleep on an intern’s lap. He never batted an eye. I remember when one kitten ran down the hall with me in fast pursuit. The kitten did a sharp right into Brian’s office. I had to get on my hands and knees to get the baby from under a table. Again, Brian never batted an eye.”

Martha Leavitt’s creativity helped shape the magazines’ success between 1997 and 2011. “Brian’s passing brings lots of fun memories of my time working there for 14 years, meeting so many different people—and I also like to remember all the different offices that we occupied during that time. I think my favorite place was Cotuit in that old house on Falmouth Road.

“I have so many great memories; of course of the office’s long time administrator, Marianna Lynch, who Brian used to call ‘COE,’ Chief of Everything—and so many other people. I also like to recall Brian and Judy’s wedding on Cuttyhunk. I was so honored to have illustrated the front of their wedding invitation. I remember the fun of sailing to the Elizabeth Islands on Brian’s sailboat. Working for Brian on the Cape with the other members of the staff at the time I was there, are memories that I hold dear. Especially now that I live so far away in Florida. Cape Cod is truly magical and I miss it very much.” 

Chris Lewis, who served as creative director from 2003-2006 says, “I was so sorry to hear about Brian. He was a remarkable man. For someone who had such an impact on Cape Cod’s culture, I was struck by how humble his obituary was—but that is not surprising. Cape Cod LIFE continues to stand out in that sea of publications. I feel fortunate to have been part of it for a short period—it was a memorable part of my life.”  

Jen Dow, creative director until 2020, led CCL’s design team for more than 125 issues. She recalled growing up on Cape Cod and wanting a career that encouraged her creativity. She says, “Seeing the magazine everywhere across the Cape, and reading the stories that were about this place I loved—my home, made me think how amazing it would be to work for such a creative magazine. In 2011, when I saw a posting for an opportunity in the production department, I never thought it would give me an opportunity to really make my mark on such an iconic brand.”

Current creative director, Susan Temple, who joined Cape Cod Life Publications five years ago captures Brian’s dry sense of humor perfectly as she recalls, “I didn’t know Brian as long as many others did, but even in the short time our paths crossed, I witnessed his quiet grace and sharp wit firsthand.

“I was hired the summer of 2020—a time when the world felt distant and disconnected. The pandemic had stripped away the usual greetings, handshakes and hallway chats. So it wasn’t until winter that I finally met Brian in person. I remember that first meeting vividly. I smiled and said, ‘You know Brian, I actually sent my resume to Cape Cod Life back in the 1980s, hoping you’d hire me then.’ Without missing a beat, and with that signature twinkle in his eye, he replied, ‘Took us a while to get back to you.’ That one line told me everything I needed to know about Brian—he was sharp, warm, and effortlessly funny. Rest in peace Brian. Thank you for finally hiring me.”