Donald Andrew Brewer Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Donald Andrew Brewer was a strong and loyal man of great character. He had the ability to bring people together and was known to reach out to anyone who needed him, both in good times and bad. After living a full life, Don left this Earth surrounded by his loving family on December 23, 2016, after a brief illness. He was born on October 20, 1934, the fourth child of William and Genevieve Brewer’s seven children. He was predeceased by his wife, Elizabeth (Betty Treahy) in 1993, after 34 years of loving marriage. Don also leaves behind his two children of which he was very proud, Patrick Brewer (and his wife Jean) of Key Largo, FL, and Colleen Moore of West Hartford, CT. He was a loving “Grampy” to Danielle Resch, Jessica Brewer, Kristen Marks, Ryan Moore, and Benjamin Moore and Great Grandfather to Cameron, Gavin, Anthony, Adeline, Angelina, and Genevieve to whom he adored. Don was predeceased by his parents; sister Marilyn Brewer; brothers William, Raymond, and John, nephews Neil, Terry and Brad as well as his niece Patricia Brewer Hall. Don’s journey through life brought him through St. Thomas the Apostle School, Cardinal Farley Military Academy, Hall High School, Abbey Prep and St. Michael’s College. He also served in the US Army as a member of the Honor Guard. After returning from service, he joined his brother Bill and Jim Horan to form the Brewer and Horan Construction Company and then went on to work with his father in the Brewer Machine Company for several years. In 1964, he successfully applied for, and received, acceptance for a franchise in the Atlantic Coast Football League for the city of Hartford, an effort that required extraordinary cooperation with the city government and business leaders. This endeavor filled a vacuum of twenty years in professional sports entertainment in the city of Hartford. In 1967, when the ACFL began to disassemble, he brought to the Hartford Charter Oaks into the newly formed Continental Football League, greatly expanding the scope and talent of competition to the national level. Subsequently, he entered the real estate field as Don Brewer Real Estate Company and this led to his final business venture. In 1976, he built and established The Brewer House Restaurant, a dinner facility with an Irish pub atmosphere that became a major attraction especially on St. Patrick’s Day. His love for football was evidenced by his twenty-five year association with the West Hartford Boys Football League. He was one of the winningest coaches during his tenure. In addition, he served as head coach at Northwest Catholic High School for two years when his own children attended. Upon his wife’s passing in 1993, Don moved to Pompano Beach, FL where he spent the next twenty three years of his life. He developed many special friendships over the years and enjoyed the company of good friends at both the Elk’s Club and the American Legion, of which he was a member. In addition to his children and grandchildren, he leaves his sister, Sr. Patricia Brewer RSM and brother Edward (Ned) Brewer; his wife Carol, sister and brother-in laws, Peggy and John Riccio; his close friend and companion Ms. Marge Woodruff, and several nieces and nephews, cousins and friends. The family would like to thank the Farmington Valley Hospice Program for their special help. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 am on Wednesday, December 28, 2016 at Saint Thomas the Apostle Church, 872 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford. Burial will be at a later date. Calling hours will be Tuesday, December 27, 2016 from 3-7 pm at Molloy Funeral Home 906 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.