By Amber Jurgensen | Associate Editor
Whether he was taking care of patients at his practice or performing comedic sketches on stage, Dr. Hal Brewer always had a smile on his face.
And that’s how many community members will remember him.
Dr. Brewer, longtime physician, philanthropist and community leader, died Nov. 5. He was 85.
Dr. Brewer had been staying at the South Florida Baptist Hospital since Oct. 15. He returned home Sunday and was surrounded by family when he died.
“We were glad and happy to all have the time to be right there for his last breath,” son Les Brewer said.
A native of Mississippi, Dr. Brewer was a World War II veteran. He married Lynn Holloway in 1951. He moved to Plant City in 1960 after graduating from medical school at the University of Mississippi. His family was selected as Family of the Year by the Plant City Woman’s Club in 1971 and have since remained involved in the community.
Dr. Brewer was a charter member of the Toastmasters and a member of the Kiwanis Club of Plant City, Friends of the Library and the Plant City Entertainment community theater. He had been a Sunday school teacher, Spring of Tampa Bay board member, director and president of the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce, member of the East Hillsborough Historical Society, and South Florida Baptist Hospital board member.
Dr. Brewer had also been honored as Outstanding Citizen of the Year and received a Heritage Award.
“I’ve always been very proud of my dad,” Les Brewer said. “He’s seemed to have an impact on many people. He always liked to tell stories, entertain and make people happy.”
Kim Mitchell, who knew Dr. Brewer for 40 years, agreed.
“I have so many wonderful memories of him — from him playing in the junkyard band at the hospital picnics many years ago, to him playing a ‘G Man’ in Plant City Entertainment’s production of ‘You Can’t Take it With You,’ to all the wonderful jokes and stories he told, in a true Mississippi Southern gentleman style,” she said.
“He helped me to overcome the fear of public speaking as well as countless others as our mentor (at Toastmasters),” Rick Norman said.
“He was a wonderful doctor, but beyond that, he is a marvelous person,” Jane Poppell said. “He always listened to you, and he was always smiling.”
Dr. Brewer had been Poppell’s doctor since he came to Plant City.
“If there was anything he could do for the community he would get involved,” Poppell said. “Just an incredible person. I can’t say enough about him.”
In recent years, he suffered from an anemic condition and brain cancer.
“I don’t think I ever saw Dr. B without a smile on his face,” Mitchell said. “He was always so kind and gracious. In all the time that he was battling his health problems, he always kept up his happy demeanor.”
“He was a wonderful person and will be missed by the community,” Poppell said.
Mr. Brewer is survived by his wife, Lynn Brewer; children, Cindy Gutowski and her husband, Gregg, Rodney Brewer and his wife, Karen, Les Brewer and his wife, Saira, and Dan Brewer and his partner, Robert; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
A visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9, at Wells Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 10, at the First United Methodist Church.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made in Dr. Brewer’s name to the Bruton Memorial Library, the Plant City Photo Archives and History Center, Plant City Entertainment and Madison’s Mission.