Obituary of Constance Goerdes McKinley Brewer

Mrs. Constance Goerdes McKinley Brewer died peacefully in her Winchester Gardens, Maplewood, home on May 24, 2008. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the funeral service at Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, 681 Prospect Ave., West Orange, on Saturday, May 31, at 1 p.m. Interment is in Holy Innocents Cemetery, West Orange. Visitation will be held at the Preston Funeral Home, 153 South Orange Ave., South Orange, on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. For more information or to send condolences, please visit prestonfuneralhome.net. Born Constance Goerdes, Mrs. Brewer grew up in the Oranges and Millburn, worked and lived in New York City and moved to Packanack Lake in 1952, where she raised her family and was active in the community and Immaculate Heart of Mary Church for 35 years. A reporter for the U.S. government in post-war Europe, a public relations writer for RCA, and later, international advertising manager for Electronic Design, Mrs. Brewer retired in 1988 and moved to Short Hills, and then, Maplewood. She attended Columbia University and American University, and held a B.A. in communications from Edison College, and an M.A. from William Paterson University. Vibrant and high spirited, Constance enjoyed travel, theater, dancing, literature and family. Mrs. Brewer was a member of the Overseas Press Club, Catholic Writers Guild, Red Cross, St. Rose of Lima Church, and the Paper Mill Playhouse Auxiliary. Constance is survived by her husband, Ferdinand H. Brewer Jr., and her McKinley children, Frank (Chip), M.B.A.; Nancy, Ph.D.; David, M.D.; Marcy P.G.; and John James, B.S.; 12 grandchildren, and loving nieces, nephews and cousins. Memorial gifts can be made to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of Janet Weis Childrens Hospital. Checks can be made payable to the Geisinger Health System Foundation and mailed to the Geisinger Foundation, 100 N. Academy Ave., Danville, Pa. 17822-4000. Please indicate the memorial request with the donation.