Herbert Brewer

Herb Brewer, 88, died of complications from atypical chronic mylogenous leukemia in his hometown of Brenham, TX, on October 13. He was born June 3, 1923 in Beloit, WI as the last and third child of Walter and Charlotte Brewer. He had an older brother Ralyn and sister Roberta. After working on the family farm in Roscoe, IL during The Depression and graduating from Hononegah HS in 1941, Herb enlisted in the Army Air Corp and enrolled in officer candidate school. He did his training in Hondo, TX. and met his future wife, Shirley Owen, at a football game in San Antonio. Upon completion of his training, Herb served in the China-Burma-India theatre where he eventually rose to the rank of captain and to Air Group navigator for B-24 Liberator bombers. He flew on 55 combat sorties including bombing the famous Bridge on the River Kwai and other missions. He was a decorated war hero, and was awarded he Distinguished Flying Cross. He turned down the opportunity to be trained as a pilot and also to be Lord Mountbatten''s personal navigator so that he could return home and marry the love of his life and his wife of eventually 65 years. He eventually attended and graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1948 and then took a job in the Chicago office of Touche, Ross, Niven, and Smart as a public accountant. This company would eventually become today Deloitte and Touche after he retired in 1988. Touche was the only employer of Mr. Brewer for his career that spanned virtually 40 years. While in the Chicago office, Herb soon passed all four parts of the CPA exam and became highly involved in the audit practice of this Big Eight accounting firm. His skill and acumen in the profession did not go unnoticed by his superiors. He was awarded a prestigious one year work assignment with the U.S. Treasury Department in 1958 with the understanding he would be transferred to the fledgling Houston office of the firm in 1959. He joined the Houston office, made partner in 1963, and then became partner in charge of the Houston office in 1968 where he remained until 1974. During this time, he and Shirley bought a small ranch in Brenham, TX in 1968; the city where he kept a residence until his death. While in Houston, he joined Lakeside Country Club where he and Shirley remained members for over half a century. In 1974, Herb was asked to work for the National office of Touche out of New York City where he was charged with coordinating the professional strategies of legal actions where Touche was a party to litigation. He did this until his retirement in 1988. As this job required even more travel than his audit responsibilities, they bought a second home in Darien, CT so that it would be easier for both he and Shirley to travel together. Mr. Brewer thoroughly enjoyed his career as a CPA with Touche. Upon his retirement, he was able to devote himself full-time to raising black angus cattle on Tri-B acres in Brenham. He stayed professionally connected through his group of valued friends in the Brenham and Houston areas. He quickly recovered from open heart surgery on September 13, 2001 and continued to stay active up until the last few weeks of his life. His wife stayed with him literally until the end. Those who had the pleasure of knowing Herb will remember him as a demanding yet caring; and a direct yet tactful individual with a dry sense of humor and a quiet understanding of human behavior. He could be equally at ease with blue-collar laborers or white-collar executives. He enjoyed baseball and other sports equally with theatre and the arts. His name lives on through his loving wife Shirley, his son Bart, his daughter-in-law Julia, and his two grandsons Nathaniel and Zachary. He loved and willingly sacrificed for all of them and now the void in each of their lives is large. There will be no public service. The family wishes to convey their heartfelt gratitude to those who have reached out in this difficult time, particularly to Shirley. Your efforts have meant a lot to them. If anyone else wishes to further honor Mr. Brewer''s memory, please send a note to the family through the on line guestbook on the website www.memorialoakschapel.com. Final arrangements were entrusted to Memorial Oaks Chapel, 1306 West Main, Brenham.