David Ernest Brewer

David Ernest Brewer died on Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 9:56 in the morning. He was 71 years old. David was born in Sallisaw, OK on May 30, 1948 and graduated from Sallisaw High School in 1966. He was drafted into the Vietnam War in 1969 when he was twenty years old. He served as a point man and was awarded the National Defense Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Army Commendation Medal with V device (for Valor), the Vietnam Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, the Air Medal, the Bronze Star Medal and the Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 device. He was also eligible to receive a Purple Heart after sustaining a shrapnel injury, but he humbly refused to accept it, as others who were awarded it had lost limbs and lives. He served in the 1st Cavalry Division. He was stationed at Ft. Carson in Colorado Springs upon his return from the war. Shortly after, he met Frances Meehan, formerly of Aberdeen, SD, who was an art teacher in Woodland Park, CO. They fell in love and married seven months later in Aberdeen, SD, on August 7, 1971. Dave was a construction worker and loved building things. He also enjoyed hunting, fishing, horses, and going to the mountains. He loved learning about Western and Native American history and was a self-taught artist who loved to draw and paint. He was a loving husband and a devoted father to his two daughters, Rachel and Clare. In 1989, he suffered a heart attack at 40 years old but survived it. However, he could no longer work construction, the job he loved so much. In 1993, he had a cardiac arrest and received a heart transplant on January 24, 1994. He was forty-five years old. His donor family is Cecil and Helen Souders of Sterling, CO. Their son Scott passed away and Cecil and Helen’s generous gift saved Dave’s life and extended it by twenty-six years. Dave was among the longest-living heart transplant recipients in the United States upon the time of his death. Because he received a new heart, Dave was able to see his daughters graduate from high school and college and was able to walk them down the aisle and dance with them at their weddings. He was able to make many trips back home to Oklahoma to see his family for summer vacations and family reunions. Later, he became a grandpa to two wonderful grandchildren, Jed David (named after his Papa) and Zelda Frances. Dave was a lover of music and was full of the dickens. He loved to tease, tell jokes and spin yarns. His smile lit up rooms. He was a humble man, a gentle man, loving, thoughtful and patient. Through all of his trials he stayed in good spirits and never uttered an unkind word about anyone. Everyone who met him loved him. On the morning he died, Dave was being discharged from a rehab facility where he had been treated for pneumonia. His wife and daughter were waiting for him in the lobby. He was happy and excited to go home when his heart stopped. It turns out he was going home that day, to his heavenly home. David was preceded in death by his parents, Ernest and Evelyn (Russell) Brewer of Sallisaw, OK. He is survived by his wife, Frances Brewer of Colorado Springs, CO; his daughter, Rachel Montoya and her husband, Nicholas Montoya of Denver, CO; his daughter, Clare Oldham, her husband, Vern Oldham and their two children, Jed and Zelda Oldham of Covina, CA; his sisters Darlene Conner and Debra Poindexter of Sallisaw, OK; and his brother, Mike Brewer of Akins, OK. He was a member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church. Due to the Coronavirus epidemic, no funeral mass can be held at this time. A memorial service and military honors will take place in the future. He will be buried at Pikes Peak National Cemetery in Colorado Springs. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Donate Life America or to your local VA Medical Center.