James Brewster

JAMES FRANKLIN BREWSTER ( 1925- 2016 ) James Franklin Brewster, a resident of Westminster Canterbury in Winchester, VA., died on April 25, 2016 at the age of 90. Born August 29, 1925, he was the son of The Reverend Leon Mark Brewster and Ora Wood Brewster, both deceased. He is survived by his beloved wife of 61 years, Deborah Richardson Brewster, also of Winchester, VA., and his dearest daughter and son, Abigail Brewster Pope and Peter Wood Brewster (Anna). He is predeceased by his beloved son, Mark Richardson Brewster (Wendy), as well as his loving sister, Mary Brewster Bamber. He leaves a legacy of eight grandchildren and one great grandchild. Jim was born in Waterbury, Connecticut and grew up in Farmington, Connecticut. At 16, he volunteered to serve in Dorothy Thompson’s Volunteer Land Corps, where he was assigned to work on a farm in Chester, Vermont. A Naval veteran of WWII, he served at Pearl Harbor and Okinawa. He was honorably discharged as a Storekeeper Second Class in May 1946, after serving for 33 months. He was a graduate of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA. While a student there he was elected to serve as President of the drama club, The Troubadors. Upon graduation he was awarded a Fellowship in Psychology at Washington State College, in Pullman, Washington. Following graduate school, he worked as a Publisher’s Representative in the College Department of Appleton Century Crofts and later at the American Book Company. Married in December of 1954, he accepted a position in the Sales Department of the United States Steel Corporation, in Pittsburgh, PA. After 16 years, Jim left USS as Assistant Manager of Coated Sheets to join Roll Coater, a division of Arvin Industries, as Vice-President of Sales. He left Roll Coater in 1975 to establish his own company, Market Growth Research Company, to market unique Japanese coil coated products and to represent the A. Rifkin Company, a bank equipment firm. Jim maintained an active interest in the theater throughout his college and business life, participating in 37 stage plays. He is the author of five published novels, as well as the author of 3 musical satires and numerous short stories. Jim and his wife, Debbie, traveled extensively in the United States, as well as Europe, Japan and Taiwan. They were outdoor enthusiasts and thoroughly enjoyed their retirement in Estes Park, CO. where Jim was challenged to climb Long’s Peak. They then spent 18 years in the Phoenix area before coming to Virginia. A life-long Episcopalian, he has served as Vestryman and Senior Warden. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him for his compassion, patience, love of life, and dry humor.