Obituary of Ferdinand H. Brewer, Jr.

Ferdinand H. Brewer Jr. of Maplewood died Tuesday, June 3, 2008. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the memorial service at Winchester Gardens, 333 Elmwood Ave., Maplewood, on Saturday, June 14, at 3 p.m. Interment will be private. Arrangements are by the Preston funeral Home, South Orange. Ferdinand was a native of Philadelphia, where he was born and lived for his early years. He attended the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Class of 1942. He was awarded membership in Beta Gamma Sigma, an honorary business fraternity, and received the Joseph Wharton Medal for proficiency in research. During World War II, Mr. Brewer served in the U.S. Armys Finance Corps, achieving the rank of captain. Following war service, he was employed by the Guaranty Trust Company, which later merged with J.P. Morgan to become Morgan Guaranty Trust in New York City. He worked at Morgan Guaranty in a variety of positions until mandatory retirement as a vice president in 1982, whereupon he became a vice president at First Fidelity Bank in Newark. Mr. Brewer resided in the Oranges and Short Hills during the post-war years and was a member of the Penn Club, the Ben Franklin Society and the vestry of St. Marys Church, West Orange. He served on the board at the Orange Lawn Tennis Club and was a member of the Rock Spring Country Club. Since retirement, he and Constance have traveled widely in Europe, South America and Asia. They also loved the arts and were avid theatergoers in London, New York and at the local Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn. He was the beloved husband of the late Constance McKinley Brewer and the late Elizabeth Mitchell Brewer; devoted father of Ferdinand H. (Chip) Brewer III of Racine, Wis., and the late Adele Nelson of Bernardsville and Marthas Vineyard, Mass., and dear brother of Helen Read of Media, Pa. He is also survived by five grandchildren and six greatgrandchildren. The family requests, in lieu of flowers, gifts be made to Winchester Gardens Scholarship Fund, 333 Elmwood Ave., Maplewood, N.J. 07040 in his memory.