Devoted to family and providing unwavering support to her late husband Col. Harry Leigh Brewer throughout his long and distinguished military career, Mary Elisabeth H. Brewer, 95, passed away Wednesday, December 4, 2024, at home. Her English roots and Boston upbringing were apparent in the impeccable manners and class with which she conducted herself, and in her capacity to befriend and come to the aid of those less fortunate, providing hope, reassurance, opportunity, and guidance to set them on a better course.
Daughter of the late Charles Sidney Hartnoll and Mae Traynor Hartnoll, Elisabeth was born in Falmouth, Massachusetts on November 18, 1929. She is survived by her three children, Lisa Brewer Rodriguez (Raul), Laura Leigh Brewer (Roger), and Charles Austin Brewer. She leaves behind four grandchildren of which she was so proud, James P. Bohnaker, Jr., Dr. Lacey Charles Carper, Chase Austin Brewer, and Cameron Harry Brewer. She also leaves behind two beautiful sisters-in-law, Betty Brewer Rodgers and Dot Brewer, and a bevy of nieces and nephews whose quintessential southern accents and hospitality are unmatched, and who are affectionately and collectively known as “The Alabama Brewers.” She also leaves behind her late brother’s daughter, a niece whom she adored, Mary Alice Hartnoll, of Satellite Beach, Florida.
Following graduation from Lesley College in Boston, Elisabeth traveled abroad to Chaumont, France, where she was an Educator of English as a second language. It was here that she frequently attended air shows at Chaumont Air Base, home to the 48th Fighter Pilot Squadron, and where she would meet her trusted co-pilot in life, Harry Brewer.
A true Matriarch, her married life was characterized by military reassignments, sometimes two within one year. Unable to continue teaching due to the spousal demands of a military officer, but adamant in her quest to be self-sufficient and materially contribute to the household, she began investing in real estate that she sold for a tidy profit with each family move. This was her “job.” In the mid-1970s, she began investing only in waterfront properties, a practice she continued for the rest of her life.
Elisabeth liked all things fast, including planes, cars, and boats. She never tired of seeing or hearing a fighter jet take off or watching its jet stream trace the sky. Her passion for fast, sporty, cars is legendary, and was reflected in her non-traditional choice of wheels, a Firebird Trans Am, a love she passed down to her son Charles and his son Chase, both of whom enjoy the racetrack and can build a car engine from scratch.
Elisabeth’s obsession with being near the ocean and the sea was not limited to real estate. Her greatest legacy was sharing her love of sailing, a family pursuit that has produced three generations of competitive sailors who relish as much as she did, the sound of water slapping a hull and halyards clanging against a mast. Her children were introduced to sailing at an early age, and her proudest moments and greatest joy, was traveling with them to and from regattas, trailering meticulously outfitted sailboats with matching boat and equipment covers, and sail numbers patterned after the account number font in her check book, each item hand made by her on a 1960 era Singer sewing machine. A former member of St. Petersburg Yacht Club “Salty Sisters,” her sailing adventures are numerous and include stories that originated on and off the water, notably her association with and learnings from fellow Flying Dutchman sailor Ted Turner, of America’s Cup and CNN fame.
A child of the depression, Elisabeth was relentlessly frugal and thrifty, developing atypical but legendary home renovation and other skills in an era void of “how to” social media and You Tube videos. She avoided “paying a professional” for anything she could learn to do herself. Unassisted, she completed every tax filing through 2015, in pencil, with personalized, handwritten notes to the IRS penned in impeccable cursive. Installing immeasurable square feet of hand cut and stained wainscoting throughout her large Tudor home in Hampton, she vowed that “trim can fix anything.” Her DIY endeavors were so varied, voluminous, and notable, including gel coat boat repair, that the family deemed her de facto President of “The Brewer Busy B’s,” a mock home improvement/boat repair business, complete with custom t-shirts. A proud Dollar Tree patron, Elisabeth prided herself in getting there early on “bread delivery day.”
A member of her beloved Hampton Yacht Club where she spent more than 50 years sailing, competing, and volunteering at regattas, Elisabeth found great satisfaction and solace in watching her children and grandchildren do the same, with several later going on to teach the sport she so loved.
A private memorial service to celebrate her life will be held at Arlington National Cemetery where she will be reunited with her extraordinary co-pilot, Col. Harry Leigh Brewer, call sign “Boomer.” “In lieu of flowers, the family requests that expressions of sympathy and remembrance be sent to an animal rescue of choice, or the Hampton Yacht Club Foundation, Elisabeth Brewer Youth Sailing Scholarship Fund, to help support need-based scholarships to advance the sailing and/or sailboat racing experience of Hampton Roads’ youths, including the costs for coaching, training, equipment and event attendance.
With the military precision she became accustomed to carrying out, the grace, beauty, subtlety and reliability of the Stealth B-2 her co-pilot so revered, with the integrity and respect of a white-gloved salute she witnessed bestowed on her husband for 30 years, and with the wind at her back and her sails full, this extraordinary “ahead of her time” wife, mother, grandmother, and endlessly talented woman of the world, has shaped our family for untold generations. Mom, Dad is waiting. Mission accomplished.
