Category: Obituary: B

Samuel “Sam” Berliner III, the partner of the Reverend Lilia Cuervo, died 29 Dec 2020 at age 86. Sam was born 15 February 1934 in Manhattan, where his father was well known as a funeral director. He was educated at Champlain College in Plattsburg, New York, which he says, “no longer exists,” and studied engineering at MIT. He worked 15 years for Pall Corporation on Long Island, which made ultra fine fluid filters. He left that to pursue his interest in ultrasonics, which comprised the biggest part of his life’s work. Working independently and with companies in that industry, Sam developed patented processes and devices to apply ultrasonic solutions in a variety of situations. In 2011 he was given an honorary membership by The Ultrasonic Industry Association Board of Directors. 

Sam maintained a website that held a great deal of his other interests — language, theology, railroads (and model railroads), and more. He describes himself as “Technical and Historical Writer, Oral Historian, Popularizer of Science and Technology, Rail, Auto, Air, Ordnance, and Model Enthusiast, Light-weight Linguist, Lay Minister, and Putative Philosopher.”  His website confirms and endorses that description.

A great number of people posted tributes on the sites that are established for those purposes. They come from people he encountered working on a group that studies the Long Island Motor Parkway, and from the Boston Chapter National Railway Historical Society. And several from people whose lives he had touched in UU Congregations. Sam was fully involved in anything that interested him, and as a minister’s partner.

Sam is survived by his daughters Nancy Cordes and Elisabeth McKinnon, and grandchildren Natalie and Eric Cordes; and by Lilia, his wife of over 14 years, her son Xavier Hernandez, and two daughters, Nilza Wise, and Shani Hernandez, and her granddaughter Javale Wise.

The family plans to hold an in-person Memorial when it is safe to gather.

Lilia can be reached at 6 Apache TRL, Medford, MA 02155-1471 and at cuervouu@comcast.net.

The Rev. Carl Victor Bretz died on October 4, 2020 at the age of 94.

Carl is survived by his daughter Stephanie Cox and husband, Craig; by son Jonathan Bretz and wife, Linda; by daughter Rima Michaud and husband, Eric; and by grandchildren Molly Panos McDonald, Philip Panos Jr., Jamieson Bretz, and Barbara Michaud Bowers. He leaves 11 great-grandchildren: Ayden and Mackenzie McDonald, Kennedy Panos, Jackson and Oliver Bretz, Allison, Evan and Lyla Bowers, Erin Michaud, Kaiden Hayes and Desmond Hayes.

Carl was predeceased by his first wife and the mother of his children, Janice Miller Bretz-Howe; his last wife Rosemary Burns; and his granddaughter Rita Michaud.

A memorial service will be held at a later date at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church in Oak Ridge, TN. Interment will be in the ORUUC Memorial Garden.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Rosemary M. Burns Memorial Endowment fund at ORUUC (809 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN). UURMaPA will contribute $50 to the UUMA Endowment Fund in honor of our colleague’s ministry.

Condolences may be sent to Rima Michaud, 1711 Hillcrest Drive, Eustis, FL 32736; to Stephanie Cox, H.C. 61 Box 4058, Ramah, NM 87321, or to Jonathan Bretz.

A more complete obituary will follow.

The Rev. Ellen L. Brandenburg died on September 4, 2020 at the age of 75.

Ellen is survived by her older siblings Peter Boyd, Mary Davis, and stepsister Sue Oates. She also leaves her daughter Anna and granddaughter Ivy Brandenburg, her son Peter Brandenburg, and his wife Krisztina Holly.

A Memorial Service was planned to be held on Nov. 6, 2021, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm at First Church Unitarian Universalist, Salem MA. The service will be in person and streamed. An outdoor reception is planned following the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ellen’s name to First Church in Salem Community Relief Fund, 316 Essex Street, Salem MA 01970; to Star Island Corporation, or to Morton-Benedict House, 30 Middle Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801, or to Care Dimensions Hospice 75 Sylvan Street, Suite B-102, Danvers, MA 01923. UURMaPA will contribute $50 to the UUMA Endowment Fund in honor of our colleague’s ministry.

Notes of condolences may be sent to Anna Brandenburg, 95 Essex St. #1, Salem MA 01970.

A more complete obituary will be forthcoming after biographical research has been completed.

Susan Elizabeth Benner, the surviving spouse of Reverend Richard Benner, died 23 August 2020 in Sarasota Florida. Her medical condition had been improving, but suddenly worsened, leading to a heart attack in hospital.

She was born 17 October 1940 In Wellington, New Zealand, to William E Thurgood and June Brodie. Her formal education culminated with her graduation from The Hewitt School in New York City in 1960.

Susan married Dick Benner on 21 December 1965 in Falmouth, Maine. After he was ordained in 1974, they lived in the places where he served Unitarian Universalist churches – Fort Meyers FL, Garden City NY, Sarasota FL, and Omaha NE. When he retired from parish ministry, they returned to Sarasota. She remained there after Dick died in 2013.

She was, first of all, fully involved in her family, even taking out photo albums to share stories with her caretakers as her health declined. Her family, in turn, remembers her love of animals, her love of music, her days on the tennis courts, and her affinity for crossword puzzles. A minister who knew them after they returned to Sarasota remembers her as being personable and fun.

Susan is survived by her two sons; Andrew, who lives in Sarasota, and can be contacted at googa69@gmail.com; Christopher, who lives in San Diego, California, with his wife Yinghong and their daughter Sophia, can be contacted at cbenner2076@gmail.com. Condolence messages might be directed to either address.

The Rev. Dr. Andrew “Andy” C. Backus died on January 22, 2020, at the age of 75.

Andy is survived by his wife of 53 years, Christine L. Backus; his sister Leslie Claire Backus, and his brother-in-law Greg Cassidy; his nieces Alisha and Hema Sarang-Sieminski and their children, Thendral, Kavyn and Suriyan Devi.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship.

UURMaPA will contribute $50 to the UUMA Endowment Fund in honor of our colleague’s ministry.

A memorial service will be held at 2 pm on Saturday, February 15, at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, 1207 Ellsworth St, Bellingham, WA 98225.

Notes of condolences may be sent to Chris Backus at 2746 Broadway St,
Bellingham, WA 98225.

A more complete obituary will follow.

The Rev. George Briggs died on November 21, 2019, at the age of 89.

George is survived by his daughter Irma Polster and her husband Mark Polster; and his three grandsons, Aaron Polster, Julius Polster, and Elliott Polster.

In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) or to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).   UURMaPA will contribute $50 to the UUMA Endowment Fund in honor of our colleague’s ministry.

A memorial service was held on November 25, 2019 at Congregation Beth Am in Tampa, FL.

Notes of condolence may be sent to Irma and Mark Polster at 12716 Carte Dr., Tampa, FL, 33618.

A more complete obituary will be forthcoming after biographical research has been completed.

The Rev. Barbara Dunbar Burke died on October 28, 2019, at the age of 85.

Barbara is survived by her sons Jesse McDonald, TJ McDonald and his wife Hisako Matsumoto; her sisters Elizabeth Merriman, and Nancy Bosch; her grandson Kisho McDonald; her granddaughters Lily McDonald, Georgia McDonald, and Ruby McDonald; her nieces Kate Merriman, Porter Merriman, and Amy Taylor; her nephew Joe McCormick; and her grandniece Elsabet Merriman.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Path with Art, 312 2^nd Ave South, Seattle, WA 98104.  UURMaPA will contribute $50 to the UUMA Endowment Fund in honor of our colleague’s ministry.

A memorial service is being planned for January.

Notes of condolence may be sent to TJ McDonald at 312 N 82^nd St, Seattle, WA 98103.

A more complete obituary will be forthcoming after biographical research has been completed.

The Reverend Beverly Bumbaugh—who came into UU ministry in mid-life and served multiple solo and co-ministry settlements with her husband David Bumbaugh—died on 14 February 2019, aged 82.

Beverly Ann Keplinger, the oldest of six children of Paul L. and Thelma A. Keplinger, was born on 2 May 1936 in Hagerstown, Maryland. Midway through college she married her high-school sweetheart, David Bumbaugh, and completed her B.A. in English in 1958.

Raising a family occupied much of Beverly’s time early on as David completed ministerial study and served churches in the Midwest. By the mid-1970s, hearing a ministerial call of her own, she began informally sharing roles with her husband, then settled since 1969 in Alexandria VA. In affirmation of this, the Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church board accepted their joint proposal in 1977 to recognize them as co-ministers, and the congregation forthwith ordained her on 22 January 1978. She soon enrolled in an independent ministerial study program, completing the equivalent of an M.Div. in 1981.

Over succeeding years, the Rev’d Ms. Bumbaugh served settled and interim ministries at the UU Fellowship at Easton MD, the East Shore UU Church (Kirtland OH, 1986–87), the UU Congregation of Rockland NY (1987–91), the Muttontown (NY) UU Fellowship (1992), the UU Church of the Lehigh Valley PA (1992–93), and the South Nassau UU Congregation, NY (1994–95). In 1995 she returned to co- ministry with David at the Beacon UU Congregation in Summit NJ, where he had already been settled for seven years. A cancer diagnosis led her to early retirement in 1998, and the Beacon congregation elected her Minister Emerita.

At her death, Beverly was survived by her spouse, the Rev’d David E. Bumbaugh, four children, four grandsons, and five siblings.

Memorial services were scheduled on 6 April 2019 at Bristol Village in Waverly OH; and on 25 May 2019 at the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church in Alexandria VA. Notes of condolence may be sent to David E. Bumbaugh, 335 Oak Ave, Waverly OH 45690, or revbev@aol.com.

The Reverend George Brooks—who combined activism in social justice and mental health with expertise in physics and astronomy and wove it all together into a career of 40 years in parish ministry—died peacefully on 18 June 2018, aged 95.

George Gordon Brooks was born on 14 December 1922 in Pleasantville, New York. to Leonard and Irene Huggins Brooks. He earned a B.A. in physics from Amherst College, MA, in 1944, an M.S. in astronomy from Mass. Inst. of Technology, MA, in 1947, and an S.T.B. from Harvard Divinity School in 1951.

After serving a student ministry at the UU Church of Danvers, MA, Mr. Brooks was ordained there on 24 June 1951. He was then settled successively at the Second Parish Unitarian Church in Saco, ME (1954–57), the Adams Memorial Unitarian Church in Dunkirk, NY (1957–61), the Lexington (KY) Unitarian Church, and in a half-time position at the UU Fellowship of Burlington, IA (1963–68).

An academic opportunity then lured him away to teach physics and astronomy at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, OH, while serving weekend ministries at two nearby congregations. He closed out his parish career with interim ministries in Chattanooga, TN, and Columbia, MO, and finally a two-year settlement at the UU Fellowship in Port Charlotte, FL, which later honored him as their minister emeritus.

Beyond the parish, Mr. Brooks took active leadership roles in a variety of district UU chapters and local community organizations, especially in the American Civil Liberties Union and in local support of human rights and mental health services.

At the time of his death, George Brooks was survived by nieces Miriam E. Coe, Katherine L. Randall, Julie Fix Graves, and Karen Fix Graves, nephews Edmund A. Jones, Carlton Parker Jones, and Leonard Brooks III, and several grand nieces, a grandnephew and a great nephew.

A memorial service was held on 2 December 2018 at the UU Fellowship of Charlotte County, FL.

The Reverend Sarah Barber-Braun was above all a scholar of women’s history. And wherever she lived, she surrounded herself with women’s art, including her own fabric art. Her stoles are worn by many colleagues.

Sarah especially devoted decades of scholarship to the life and work of early Universalist minister Phebe Ann Coffin Hanaford. Her long-time friend and colleague, the Rev’d Carol Hepokoski, said that Sarah’s “heart seemed to live in the 19th century.”

In August 2017, colleagues and area ministers gathered, with Sarah in attendance, to celebrate her life. Four months later, 17 December 2017, she died, aged 92.

Sarah Elizabeth McGrew was born in Tokyo, Japan, to Dallas Dayton Lore McGrew and Elizabeth Barber McGrew on 23 October 1925. She earned her B.A. in political theory and government from Radcliffe College, MA, in 1947.

Sarah settled with husband Harold Braun in Missoula, MT, where they eventually raised three adopted children. She worked as a religious educator at a local United Church of Christ church (1956–60), and then turned to the crafting of jewelry as an entrepreneurial artist and served also as an art consultant to the local Head Start program.

After divorce in 1976, Sarah reclaimed her mother’s birth name as part of a new surname. In 1978 she discovered the Humboldt UU Fellowship, and in 1981 she was on her way to Starr King School, where she completed her M.Div. in 1984. She was ordained on 17 February 1985 by the First Unitarian Church of Oakland, CA.

The Rev’d Ms. Barber-Braun began her parish career as an extension minister at the UU Congregation of Erie, PA (1986–89), followed by a mix of contract and interim ministries at the Saltwater UU Church (Des Moines, WA, 1989–90), the First Universalist Society in New Haven, CT (1994–96), the Mattatuck UU Society in Woodbury, CT (1996–97), and finally at the First Universalist Church of Southold, NY (1997–2002).

Sarah is survived by her children, Paula Braun, Julia Roth, and Daniel Braun, grandchildren Tegan Spangrude, Carl Spangrude, David Braun, and Andrea Braun, and brother John McGrew.