Charles F. Brewer Jr., LTC US Army Retired, 80, of Aiken, S.C. and Damariscotta, entered into rest, surrounded by his loving family on the evening of July 26 in Aiken, S.C.
Born in Damariscotta on Dec. 20, 1931, he was the son of Charles Sr. and Gladys (Chapman) Brewer. He grew up in Damariscotta and was a 1950 graduate of Lincoln Academy where he played varsity baseball and basketball. Charles was also very active in the American Legion Baseball League throughout high school. He enlisted in the Maine National Guard during his senior year, and entered into active duty in 1950.
Charles enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1951 and served in Korea and Japan before completing Field Artillery Officer’s Candidate School in 1954. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and stationed to Germany. In 1963, Charles married Sandra Taylor whom he met while on assignment in Fort Bliss, Tex. After a second tour in Germany, he went to Vietnam in 1967 as an advisor to the Vietnamese Army. He was in country during the North Vietnamese TET attack on the South Vietnamese in early 1968. After his return, Charles was assigned to the Headquarters of Army Combat Developments in Washington, D.C. and then the U.S. Army Recruiting Command in Boston as Commanding Officer. He retired from active military service in 1974 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (LTC).
After the Army, Charles was employed by the New England Automated Clearing House Association, and by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He retired from the Fed in 1990, and later operated his own consulting practice. Charles lived in Danvers, Mass. for 24 years, sharing his life-long passion for baseball and sports with many youth programs in town. He managed Danvers American Little League for many years and was a past president and lifetime member of the Danvers Touchdown Club.
In 1995, Charles moved from Danvers, Mass. to Aiken, S.C. where he was a past president and active member of the Aiken chapter of the Military Officers Association of America. Until his death, he split his time between Aiken and his cottage on Pemaquid Lake in Damariscotta, a place he loved dearly.
Besides his parents, he was predeceased by brothers, Horace C. and Wm. Prescott; and sister, Betty Brewer McDonough.
Charles leaves his devoted wife of 49 years, Sandra; son, C. Bruce Brewer and wife Kathleen; daughter, Katharine Brewer; grandson, Charles John (CJ) Brewer; and many loving nieces and nephews.
Service to celebrate Charles’ life 10 a.m., Sat., Aug. 11 at the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home, 612 Main St., Damariscotta. Private interment in the Hillside Cemetery will follow the service.
If friends desire, donations in Charles’ name may be made to Lincoln Academy, Class of 1950 Fund, 81 Academy Hill, Newcastle, ME 04553; the Robert W. Belknap, MD Free Bed Fund at Miles Memorial Hospital, c/o Development Office, 35 Miles St., Damariscotta, ME 04543; or the Damariscotta Historical Society, PO Box 1154, Damariscotta, ME 04543.
Condolences, and messages for the family, may be expressed by visiting www.StrongHancock.com.
Arrangements are under the direction and care of the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home, Damariscotta.
