Leo Ira Louie Brewer Sr.

03/03/1928- 07/07/2025

Leo Ira Louie Brewer Sr., 97, passed away Monday, July 7, 2025.

Leo grew up with parents and six brothers on a farm in South Dakota. He began working as a farmer for his father and neighbors while attending high school. He helped plant, cultivate, and harvest large and small crops on farms of about 700 acres. He helped care for, feed and butcher livestock. Leo drove mule teams, trucks and made various repairs to farm equipment.

After high school, during World War II, Leo enlisted with the Armed Forces of the United States of America, Fort Riley, Omaha, Kansas, in June 1946. Leo earned a Parachutist's Badge while attending The Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia, as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division.

Upon the death of his older brother in the Battle of the Bulge, Leo was assigned to work in the capacity of Administrative N.C.O. (502) with the Enlisted Personnel Section, Military Personnel Office, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-1. Sergeant Brewer was in charge of all clerks, clerk typists, file clerks, Personnel records clerks, etc., engaged in performing personnel duties and acted as an administrative personnel assistant to the personnel officer advising him on enlisted personnel matters. This highly responsible duty required complete familiarity of all Army Regulations, Department of the Army Circulars, Letter Orders, General Orders, Special Orders and Standard Operating Procedures.

After several successful endeavors with Standard Oil, ESSO, ENCO, and Exxon corporations, Leo along with his son, Bill and wife, Connie, opened Angel's Antique and Flea Mall in Opelika, Alabama, on November 2, 2002. This very successful business was vitally important to Leo and he managed the accounting side of it until the Friday before his passing.

Leo, also known as "Paw Paw", enjoyed playing golf, the beauty of his flowers, and traveling, while able, to spend time with his family and friends.

A hunter all of his life, Leo loved nothing better than taking his four children to South Dakota for the October opening day of pheasant season. He also enjoyed deer, quail, and dove hunting. Leo was a Shriner, a Mason, and a member of the Civitan and Rotary Clubs.

Married in 1950 to Norma Jane Bruce of Birmingham, Alabama, they had four children before divorcing in 1972. Leo was preceded in death by his father, mother, and six brothers as well as his eldest son, Dr. Arthur Bruce Brewer. Leo is survived by his daughter (Barbara Brewer Taylor), two sons (Leo Ira Louie Brewer, Jr., and William David Brewer), six grandchildren, step-grandchildren and great grandchildren.

A service for Leo will be Saturday, July 12, 2025 at 11:00AM in the Chapel at Frederick-Dean Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Memory of Leo Ira Louie Brewer, Sr., to the Samaritans Purse Organization, (www.samaritanspurse.org), or Tunnel to Towers Foundation, (www.t2t.org).

If Flowers are preferred: please send to Frederick-Dean Funeral Home and Crematory, 1801 Frederick Road, Opelika, AL (334) 745-4667

Frederick-Dean Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.