Donald George Bremner

1929 - 2022

March 13, 1929 - August 22, 2022 Don Bremner was born in Lynden, WA to George and Marian (Bay) Bremner in 1929, just minutes before his twin sister Doris. He attended College of Puget Sound, now University of Puget Sound, and graduated in 1950 with a degree in philosophy. Don met his future wife, Delores (Dee) Breum at Puget Sound and they married in 1951. He went on to the University of Michigan to obtain a Master's Degree in journalism and Far Eastern studies.

Don was a conscientious objector and, after he graduated from Michigan, Don and Dee volunteered to do relief work in South Korea following the end of the Korean War to fulfill his service to country/draft requirements. They lived in Kunsan, South Korea from 1953 to 1955, working for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization with which they were volunteering to provide aid to war refugees from North Korea. Don assisted with logistics regarding relief and medical supplies that were shipped to their unit for the relief work, and also served as a liaison with local officials, and Dee was assigned the task of project photographer for the AFSC's public awareness program.

The couple moved to Baltimore, MD after their service in South Korea and started a family of four children – Paul, Carol, Nancy and Marilyn. During this time, Don worked as a newspaper reporter for the Baltimore Evening Sun covering local politics and federal court cases. In 1966, Don took the opportunity to pursue a Ford Foundation fellowship in journalism at Columbia University and the family moved to Long Island, NY for one year.

The fellowship paid off in a job offer from the Los Angeles Times, and in 1967 the family moved across the country to Pasadena, CA where Don worked as an editor of national news. He accepted the opportunity to be a foreign correspondent for two years from 1970 to 1972 in Hong Kong reporting on mainland China (before China was open to Americans), which had been a real passion of his since his University of Michigan days, and the family moved to Hong Kong. Don also reported on other southeast Asian countries, including South Vietnam in December 1971 and the upcoming independence of Bangladesh the following year.

After returning from Hong Kong, Don edited national news, the Opinion Page of the L.A. Times, and finally and most in line with his interests and expertise, Don became a foreign news editor covering reporting from the Times' foreign correspondents based in Asia and Africa.

Don retired from the Los Angeles Times in 1993 and pursued another life-long interest – volunteer activism in the Sierra Club. He became a hike leader and led many hikes in the nearby San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest. He also served on numerous committees within two of the Sierra Club's local and very active groups – the Pasadena Group and the Forest Committee. Don established many long-time friendships with like-minded people in these groups, and was active in not only Sierra Club politics, but also local Pasadena politics and national politics up until the very end.

Don was preceded in death in his immediate family by his twin sister Doris (2006), sister Margaret (2017), daughter Carol in 2002 and wife Dee in 2014. He is survived by his brothers Jim and Bill, children Paul, Nancy and Marilyn, granddaughters Nyala and Rashida, and great-granddaughter Gia. He was well-loved and will be greatly missed.

A memorial service commemorating Don's life will be held on October 22, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. at the Neighborhood Church, 301 N. Orange Grove Boulevard, Pasadena, CA.