McHenry “Mac” Shreve Brewer ’44

McHenry “Mac” Shreve Brewer ’44, 89, died on Feb. 19, 2012, at his Louisville, Ky., home, following five years of impairment due to strokes. He was born in 1922 in Lebanon, Ky., and grew up there. He attended Davidson and then graduated from U of K in a special, wartime pre-med program. While in the Army, he attended and graduated from the University of Louisville School of Medicine. He was an intern in the Columbia Presbyterian Medical center in New City. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, 1947-49, stationed in China. He then took his surgical residency at the Cornell Medical Center in New York City, where he became chief resident surgeon. He then practiced general surgery in Louisville for 40 years. As a doctor of the old school, he was always available to his patients and for many years was continuously on call. Brewer got great satisfaction from his work and was a beloved figure in the hospitals where he worked, where his skill, humor, and good nature were revered. He was the president of the medical staff of Methodist Hospital in 1966 and of Baptist Hospital in 1972. He served as the president of the Jefferson County Medical Society in 1972-73. He was the president of the Southern Society of Clinical Surgeons in 1974. He was also a member of the Southern Surgical Association and an associate clinical professor of surgery at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Brewer was a loving husband and devoted father. He is remembered for his irreverent sense of humor, his great integrity, and his love of games-especially golf and croquet. He was a member of the Second Presbyterian Church. He was preceded in death by his parents, John Bowman Brewer and Elizabeth Bottom Brewer, and by his brothers, Jack, Bill, Sam ’50, and Tom ’57. Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Cecil Norman Brewer, 3723 Fairway Ln., Louisville, KY 40207; his sons, Robert Judson Brewer (Sharon) and Charles McHenry Brewer (Ginny); his daughter, Mary Brewer Darcy (Jim); his grandchildren, Betsy Barrow ’07 [husband, Lee Barrow ’07], Anne Brewer, Bruce Darcy, Raleigh Darcy, Fred Darcy, Lucy Brewer, Charlotte Brewer, and McHenry Brewer; his sister, Cecil Fish; his brother, Robert Brewer; and a large number of nieces [including Ann Brewer Fisher ’86] and nephews.