The oldest Shady Trails camper that ever contacted me was Thomas B. Brenner. He contacted me in 2011 saying he was 87 and that he was a Shady Trails camper in 1935, 1936, 1937. He told me he was really happy to find the Shady Trails material online. He wrote: "I overcame my stuttering halfway thru the second summer going on to be selected to attend the US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD together with Jimmy Carter graduating in 1946 and serving for 33 years commanding 3 ships and retiring as a Captain." He was quite a man! He passed away on May 25, 2011, shortly after he wrote to me.
I found his obituary online. — J Kuster
WINTERVILLE - Captain Thomas B. Brenner, 87, of Winterville, died peacefully at home in the arms of his daughter, Lisa on Wednesday, May 25, 2011. Although he had been battling illness for several months, he was looking forward to attending his 65th Naval Academy reunion in June before he died unexpectedly.
There will be a small memorial service appropriately held on Memorial Day Monday at 5 p.m., at the home of his daughter Lisa Brenner and son-in-law Bruce Wilhelmsen, located at 311 Bremerton Drive, Greenville. The service will be followed by a reception. Interment will be at the United States Naval Academy Columbarium in August, where he will be laid next to his wife, Jean, on what would have been their 62nd wedding anniversary.
Captain Brenner was born April 20, 1924, in Kalamazoo, Mich., where he grew up and graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School. He then went on to graduate from the United States Naval Academy in 1947, along with distinguished classmates including President Jimmy Carter, Vice Presidential candidate James Stockdale and Heisman Trophy winner Donald Whitmire.
On August 27, 1949, he married the love of his life, Jean Bailey Brenner, whom he had known since childhood. They spent the next 30 years of Navy life together, living all over the world.
Captain Brenner's last sea command was as commissioning captain of the USS White Plains from 1967 - 1970 in San Diego, Calif. Before his retirement from the Navy in 1975, he served as Deputy Director for Intelligence, Commander-in-chief Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. After retirement, his family moved to Virginia Beach, Va., where they resided for 21 years. He continued to work and provide for his family for 20 years as General Manager at Fraser's Boiler Services, in Norfolk, Va. In 1997, his family moved to Winterville to be closer to his daughter, Lisa, her husband, Bruce, and his grandchildren, Anna and Jon. Up until his last day, he was a true family cornerstone, always providing care and love in his role of husband, father and grandfather. Tom was an officer and a gentleman who accepted life simply for what it was. Until his death, he lived independently in his home. He appreciated his friends in the Better Breathers and in the Windsor neighborhood.
Captain Brenner was preceded by death by his wife, Jean Brenner, in 2006 and his daughter Deborah Brenner in 1998.
He is survived in Greenville by his loving daughter, Lisa Brenner, son-in-law, Bruce Wilhelmsen, granddaughter, Anna Wilhelmsen of Los Angeles and grandson, Jon Wilhelmsen of New York City. Also surviving are family friend, Ms. Clara Black of Ayden; his nieces Susan Bailey of San Antonio, Texas, Lisa Rice of Worcester, Mass., and Julie Gagne of Orlando, Fla. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested contributions to Spay Today, Inc. (www.spaytoday.net), 4550-B County Home Road, Greenville, NC 27858 and ReLeaf, Inc., P.O. Box 4072, Greenville, NC 27836.
Arrangements by Wilkerson Funeral Home and Crematory, Greenville. Published in The Daily Reflector from May 28 to May 29, 2011
added May 23, 2013