WILLIAM BREWER

BREWER--William Conant,

a lawyer, diplomat, businessman, educator, and resident of New York, Boston, Washington DC, and Galesville, MD, died at home on July 25, 2016 from dysphagia after celebrating his 94th birthday. Born July 17, 1922 in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, the only son of William C. Brewer and Jeannette (Nostrand) Brewer of New York City, he attended St. Paul's School in Garden City, NY and Phillips Academy in Andover, MA. He graduated Williams College in 1943, enlisted in the Army, serving in the 10th Mountain Division and as a Japanese code breaker, completing his service as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1945. After graduating Harvard Law School in 1948, Mr. Brewer practiced for 25 years in Boston, founding with former Massachusetts governor Chubb Peabody the firm Peabody, Kaufman & Brewer, and later became a partner at Hill & Barlow specializing in international law with former governors Mike Dukakis and Bill Weld. Mr. Brewer and his first wife, Ann (Wickes) Brewer raised three children, Gale, Anita, Conant in Manchester, MA where he was the commodore of the Manchester Yacht Club, rear commodore of the Boston station of the Cruising Club of America (CCA), and served as Selectman. His affinity with the sea anchored his life, beginning with summers spent on Penobscot Bay, ME. He sailed, flew small planes, and rode motorcycles. He loved fitness, and a week before his passing was on a treadmill with his 25-year old grandson. In 1969 he began teaching environmental law at Boston College Law School, headed by Father Robert Drinan, moving in 1974 to Washington, DC as the first general counsel of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a member of the United States delegation negotiating the Law of the Sea Treaty. He joined the Metropolitan Club, and was the rear commodore of the Chesapeake station of the CCA, and historian of a reading group now in its 35th year. Retiring from NOAA in 1984 Mr. Brewer helped to reorganize Crabtree & Evelyn, and following his passion for the sea he settled in Galesville, MD with his second wife Collot Guerard, an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission. At age 80 he took up 9-wicket croquet, founding the West River Wickets in his backyard. Sharp in whites they played on lawns from Maine to Florida, winning national recognition. A member of the Annapolis Yacht Club, the West River Sailing Club, and the Galesville Astrophysical Society, he bicycled in the July 4th parade guiding his wife and her horses. At age 90 he started vegetable gardens, and at 92 volunteered at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center identifying parasites in crabs. He leaves his wife, Collot Guerard of Galesville and Washington, DC; his daughters Anita Brewer-Siljeholm of Manchester, MA and Gale Brewer, Manhattan Borough President, and her husband Cal Snyder of New York City and son Muhammed Sumbundu; his son Conant Brewer and his wife, Lorrie Anderson, of Brookline, MA; and stepson, Dr. Benjamin Bruce of Chicago, IL; and grandchildren Woodman, Earl and Jenna Brewer, Marian Siljeholm, and the late David Siljeholm. A memorial service at Christ Church, 220 Owensville Road, West River, MD 20778 will be held at 11am, Friday, August 19, 2016. Reception to follow at Galesville Memorial Hall, 952 Main St, Galesville, MD 20765. Contributions may be made to the West River Sailing Club, the Galesville Historical Society, the Galesville Improvement Association, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center or a charity of your choice.