Wichita says farewell to Carl Brewer: mayor, soldier, family man, barbecue chef
As she recounted the final days of former Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer’s life, his onetime City Council colleague Sue Schlapp brought tears to eyes — her own, and those of most of the people at Brewer’s funeral Friday.
“Carl suffered a lot these last few years and months,” Schlapp said. “We were able to spend some time together as he moved from facility to facility. In our final visits, he talked about his pain, but he never complained. We talked about offering up that pain to give it a higher purpose. He seemed to like that idea. We held hands. We told each other that we respected and loved each other.
“And then they quarantined him — that horrible rule that keeps the sick and dying from seeing their loved ones. I never saw him again. A few phone calls; a few meals of shrimp and red beans sent to him. And then he was gone.”
Although Brewer died of complications of diabetes and other conditions, the specter of COVID-19 hung over the funeral like the slate-gray clouds Friday hung over Holy Savior Catholic Church.
Attendance was limited to 240, about half capacity, to allow for social distancing. Everyone wore face masks when not speaking or singing into a microphone. The service was live streamed for those who couldn’t attend.
“Cathy, I want to thank you and your children for allowing Carl so many opportunities to serve this community, to be able to befriend so many,” said the Rev. James Billinger, who officiated at the service. “And I know that this place would be packed, this church, were it not for the fear of this COVID pandemic.”
It was a day of testimony to the life of a man who led his city through the depths of the Great Recession while keeping it on a path to improvements that will last for decades — a new terminal at Wichita Eisenhower National Airport, the Advanced Learning Library, the redevelopment of downtown into a prominent dining, entertainment and office district.
Among the elected officials in attendance were Kansas Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers, a Wichita school board member during Brewer’s tenure; Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau and Reps. Gail Finney and KC Ohaebosim; Mayor Brandon Whipple and former longtime Mayor Bob Knight; County Commission Chairman Pete Meitzner; City Council members Brandon Johnson, Becky Tuttle, Cindy Claycomb and James Clendenin.
Speakers paid tribute to Brewer as a devoted family man who held things together through the tragic murder of his grandson, Evan Brewer in 2017; as a soldier in the Army National Guard who discovered the body of a child while responding to the 1991 Andover tornado; as a brother in Omega Psi Phi, a traditionally African-American fraternity.
His close friend and successor as District 1 City Council member, Lavonta Williams, said Brewer lived a great life in “the dash” between March 5, 1957 — June 12, 2020.
“Sometimes he would see things in you that you didn’t see in yourself,” Williams said. “I was one of those people, because he saw a City Council member inside of me when I said ‘No, I’m retired.’ And look what I went on to.”
Williams also recalled Brewer as a prankster, who kept things light around City Hall.
“I would come into my office sometimes and he’d have yellow smiley faces all over the office,” she said. “I’d pick up the phone and there was a smiley face.”
Schlapp also recalled Brewer’s sense of humor, recounting a trip they took to Florida to interview a city manager candidate.
“We arrived so late there was only one car left at the rental center,” she said. “It was a small sports car, a convertible. We laughed at the picture we made driving around town with the top down. He so tall he could hardly fit into the car and me so old. We felt like Bonnie and Clyde.”
Brewer made his living in the aircraft industry, starting as a sheet-metal worker and working his way up to management positions. He worked for Cessna, Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems.
Several speakers referenced Brewers fondness for barbecue — he was an accomplished chef and frequent competitor in cookoffs, where he developed his own line of sauces that are sold in local shops.
“Probably one of the last things I told Carl was ‘Carl, just hurry up and come home, the 4th of July is coming and you have to cook the ribs,’” Williams said. “You were to be going home that day. Everything was ready. But you know what? A higher power said you are going home — you’re going home to me.”
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 4:13 PM.
