Category: Obituary: B

The Rev. Dr. Harry Brobst, 100, died January 13, 2010. He was the last of the founding members of the UU Church of Stillwater, OK, which was organized in 1947. He was a registered psychiatric nurse, and received his BA from Brown University, his MA and PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. Following his retirement, after 28 years of service as a faculty member in the Psychology Department at OSU, Harry obtained his MDiv at Phillips Seminary, 1977. He was ordained in 1977 by the UU Church of Stillwater and served the congregation for three years. He was an animal lover and enjoyed working with young people. He was married to Judith Sylvia Heideman, who died 15 years ago. He is survived by his cousins Penni Lee, Amy and William Fallow.

The Rev. Dr. John W. Brigham, 89, died January 23, 2004, of complications from congestive heart failure. A native of Concord, MA, he was a graduate of Tufts University, Crane School of Theology and Meadville Lombard. Ordained at First Parish in Concord, MA, he served congregations in Castine, ME; Billerica, MA; Sioux City and Burlington, IA; Rochester, NY; and Quincy, IL. He was field representative for the Stevens Fellowship Committee for the American Unitarian Association and was associate director of the UUA’s Department of Ministry. Upon his retirement, the Unitarian Church of Quincy, and the UU Fellowship at Burlington named him minister emeritus. His concerns centered on social justice. He was president of the Sioux City chapter of the NAACP, and in Quincy he actively supported the Walter Hammond Day Care Center. He also served on the steering committee for the POLIS study program of Quincy University, a program offering educational opportunities to retirees. He was survived by his wife, Anna Louise Dege Brigham, by three sons, Larry, Jeremy, and Daniel, their spouses, six grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.

The Rev. Charles Otis Barber, 87, died March 5, 2006 in Deland, FL. He was ordained by the Universalist Church of Foxboro, MA and served the First Universalist Church in Dolgeville, NY; First Universalist Society of Salem, Walpole NH Unitarian Church, the First Universalist Church of West Chesterfield and the Unitarian Universalist Church of West Volusia, Deland, FL. He was named minister emeritus at both the Walpole and West Volusia churches. He was survived by his wife Madelyn C. Barber and two children, Susan E. Murphy of Florida and John R. Barber of North Attleboro, MA. Memorial services were held March 26 in Deland, and April 28th at the Walpole, NH Unitarian Church.

Anna Louise Brigham, 91, widow of the Rev. John W. Brigham, died May 14, 2007 in Quincy, MA. She received her BS. in German and in counseling from University of Rochester, where she was secretary in the German Department. During the ministries of her husband, they lived in Castine, ME; Billerica, Arlington, and Quincy, MA; Sioux City and Burlington, IA; and Rochester, NY. An avid stamp collector, Anna Louise prepared “Unitarians and Universalists on Stamps,” accessible on the Quincy Unitarian Church Website. She was a member of the Quincy Church, the Women’s Alliance and the Quinsippi Stamp Club. Survivors include three sons, Lawrence Brigham of Morrow, OH; the Rev. Jeremy Brigham of Cedar Rapids, IA; and Daniel Brigham of Canandaigua, NY; six grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. A memorial service was held in Quincy Aug. 18.

Edith Elise Briggs, 89, wife of the Rev. George Briggs, died April 12, 2015, in hospice care in Winston-Salem, NC. She was born June 7, 1925 in Portland, Oregon to Alfred Holman and Edith Wilcox Holman. Elise graduated from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. Her professional career included working with migrant workers in Oregon, working for the USF&G Insurance Company in Portland, and as a librarian in Beaumont, Texas, after she was married.

She married the Rev. George Briggs in 1957 and became a devoted minister’s wife in Methodist churches and then in Unitarian Universalist congregations for the remainder of her life. As her daughter, Irma, was growing up Elise served as a Brownie leader and a Girl Scout Leader. She also led a junior nature club during their time in Pittsfield, Maine.

Elise became interested in genealogy in her 60s and over a 20-year period researched several lines of her family tree and those of her husband’s. She enjoyed knitting, crocheting and sewing until she lost much of her vision in later life. Never one to sit by, she started to study Braille when she was 86.

She was predeceased by her parents; her stepfather, Frank Winner, who married her mother when Elise was 10 years old; her sister Marian Strandberg; and her stepsister Carolyn Winner. She is survived by her husband, the Rev. George Briggs; her daughter, Irma Briggs Polster; her son-in-law, Mark Polster; three grandsons; and her extended family.

The family wishes to thank the volunteers and employees at the Danby House, Kate B. Reynolds Hospice, and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem for their kind and loving care. Memorial gifts may be sent to Crisis Control Ministry, 200 East Tenth Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101; Kate B. Reynolds Hospice, 101 Hospice Lane, Winston-Salem, NC 27103, or the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem, 4055 Robinhood Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27106.

A memorial service was planned for Sunday, June 7 (which would have been her 90th birthday) at the UU Fellowship of Winston-Salem. Notes of remembrance may be sent to George Briggs, 2945 Reynolda Rd., Apt. 226, Winston-Salem, NC 27106.

The Rev. Gene Bridges, 78, died Jan. 3, 2008, at his home in Honolulu, HI. A 1959 graduate of Starr King, he was ordained by the UU Association of Tacoma, WA, in 1960, serving there three years. He served the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu, HI from 1962-1970. He then returned to the practice of law, creating The Divorce Clinic to provide low cost legal assistance to persons of limited income. He also owned and operated Bed & Breakfast Honolulu (Statewide), the largest Bed and Breakfast association in Hawaii. According to Mike Young, Gene was a stalwart supporter of civil rights, racial justice, and peace. The Hawaii ACLU’s first phone was on his desk and he had marched in Selma. Surviving Mr. Bridges are his daughter, Beth Eileen Bridges; two sons, Adam and Channing Bridges; and four grandchildren. His wife, Mary Lee Tsuffis, predeceased him in 2003. A memorial service was held Jan.13 at the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu.

The Rev. James C. Brewer, 82, died April 28, 2009. A native of Illinois, he served in the US Navy Air Corp, then earned degrees at University of Toledo and Harvard Divinity School. Ordained in Melrose (MA), he was an intern minister with Dr. Howard Thurman at the Church of the Fellowship of All People. He served churches in MA and VA.. At the 1959 GA, Jim received the Holmes-Weatherly Award for his social justice work. He was an outspoken advocate for fair housing and integration. He ‘walked his talk’ to end racial injustice and the hardships of poverty at home and overseas. After working abroad, Jim returned to parish ministry in serving interims in Chicago, IL; Toronto, ON; Portsmouth, NH; and Westport, CT. He served the Asheville (NC) church until his retirement in 1990, when he was named their minister emeritus. He leaves his wife, and children Montie and Amy Brewer and two grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Barbara; his children Jimmy and Betsy. His second wife, Betty, died December 4, 2009.

Betty Tschappat Brewer, 74, widow of the Rev. James Brewer, died at home in Tucson, AZ, December 4, 2009. She earned a BA in Business Administration from Lake Forest College, and an RN from Elgin Community College, Elgin, IL. A devoted career nurse in Elgin and Big Rapids, MI, she moved to Tucson, AZ after retirement. Betty enjoyed reading and music. She was an avid traveler and nature lover and a volunteer at Tohono Chul Park. Preceded in death by her first husband, Henry Tschappat, in 2001 and her second husband, Jim Brewer in 2009, she is survived by her daughters, Melanie Coleman and Kathryn Tschappat and her brother, Raymond Vellinga.

George W. Brandenburg, Ph.D., 69, husband of the Rev. Ellen L. Brandenburg, died unexpectedly on Sept. 14, 2013, at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, MA. His wife, their children, a cousin, and his minister were with him.
He earned B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in physics from Harvard and held appointments researching and teaching particle physics at the Max Planck Institute in Munich, Germany; Stanford Linear Accelerator Center; and MIT. He directed the High-Energy Physics Laboratory at Harvard until his retirement in 2008. Just prior to his retirement he worked on the Atlas Experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland.

George was an avid sailor, pilot, musician, skier and maritime historian. He was a devoted member of First Church in Salem, Unitarian.

He is survived by his wife of 48 years, by their daughter, Anna Brandenburg, of Concord, NH and their son, Peter Brandenburg, and their daughter-in-law, Krisztina Holly, of Los Angeles, and his brother, John Brandenburg, of Maple Grove, MN.

His memorial service was planned for October 12 at First Congregational Society in Salem Unitarian. Donations in his name may be made to the Star Island Family Retreat and Conference Center, 30 Middle St., Portsmouth, NH 03801. Condolences may go to Ellen Brandenburg, 91 Essex St., Salem, MA 01970.

The Rev. Patricia McClellan Bowen, 73, died Sept. 14, 2007. She served congregations in West Paris, ME, South Bend, IN; Framingham, Sharon and Sherborn, MA; Virginia, Portsmouth, NH; and Las Vegas, NV; and was Assistant to the Director of Education and Social Concerns at the UUA, where she created and developed REACH, the Religious Education Clearing House. Surviving are her children Barbara Bowen of Newton and Jonathon Bowen of Spencer, MA. At her request no services were held.