William Kent Brewster (November 8, 1941 – October 3, 2022) was an American

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...

and politician. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, Brewster was a

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from from 1991 to 1997 and served in the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's b ...

from 1983 to 1990.

Early life

Brewster was born in

Ardmore, Oklahoma Ardmore is the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. According to the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,283, with an estimated population of 24,698 in 2019. The Ardmore micropolitan statistical area had an estimated ...

, on November 8, 1941, the son of Grady Omar and Rachel Mayo Brewster. He attended public schools, graduating from

Petrolia High School Petrolia High School is a public high school located in the community of Petrolia, Texas (USA) and classified as a 2A school by the UIL. It is part of the Petrolia Independent School District located in west central Clay County. The school ser ...

Petrolia, Texas Petrolia is a city in Clay County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Wichita Falls, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 686 at the 2010 census, down from 782 at the 2000 census. Geography Petrolia is located in norther ...

, and earned his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in pharmacy from

Southwestern Oklahoma State University Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU) is a public university in Weatherford and Sayre, Oklahoma. It is one of six Regional University System of Oklahoma members. History SWOSU was first established through an act of the Oklahoma Ter ...

in 1968. He was initiated into

Tau Kappa Epsilon Tau Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as or Teke, is a social college fraternity founded on January 10, 1899, at Illinois Wesleyan University. The organization has chapters throughout the United States and Canada, making the Fraternity an internat ...

, and was a member of the

United States Army Reserves The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

from 1966 to 1971. After college graduation, Brewster moved to

Colleyville, Texas Colleyville is a city in northeastern Tarrant County, Texas, United States, centrally located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. A wealthy suburb of the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Colleyville was originally a small farm town in the 19th century. Th ...

, where, as a licensed

, he owned and operated Colleyville Drug. In 1968, he also began a career as a cattleman and rancher when he started Brewster Angus Farms, as well as owning a real estate business. In 1977, Brewster settled in

Marietta, Oklahoma Marietta is a city and county seat in Love County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,626 at the 2010 census, a 7.4 percent increase from the figure of 2,445 in 2000. Marietta is part of the Ardmore, Oklahoma, Micropolitan Stati ...

Entry into politics

In 1982, Brewster was elected to a seat in the

for District 49. He was re-elected in 1984 and served until 1990. In the 1990 elections, Brewster ran for an open seat in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

(District 3—then Congressman

Wes Watkins Wesley Wade Watkins (born December 15, 1938) is an American politician from the state of Oklahoma. Watkins is a retired member of the United States House of Representatives where he had represented for 14 years as a Democrat and then for six yea ...

had decided to retire from

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

and run for

Governor of Oklahoma The governor of Oklahoma is the head of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor serves as the head of the Oklahoma Executive (government), executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma. The gove ...

). Brewster won the heavily contested

Democratic party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

nomination against Lieutenant Governor Robert S. Kerr III. He won the election to Congress in November 1990 in this heavily Democratic district (referred to as " Little Dixie"). He was re-elected in 1992 and then again in 1994, serving from January 3, 1991, to January 3, 1997.

Retirement from Congress

In December 1995, Brewster announced that he would not run for reelection to Congress in 1996. He was mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate for governor in 1998, but declined to run for the nomination. After he left Congress, Brewster joined R. Duffy Wall and Associates, a

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, lobbying firm. In 2001, he served as president and chief operating officer of this firm. He was also

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

and chairman of the Capitol Hill Consulting Group.

Personal life

Brewster married Mary Sue "Suzie" Nelson in 1963, and the couple had three children: Balynda Karel, Betsy Kecia, and Bradley Kent. On January 31, 1990, Betsy Kecia and Bradley Kent died in a plane crash with friends of the family. Brewster died on October 3, 2022, at the age of 80. He died at his home in Marietta following a battle with cancer.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture – Brewster, Bill
* *
William K. Brewster Collection
at the

Carl Albert Center The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center is a nonpartisan institution devoted to teaching and research related to the United States Congress and, more broadly, to strengthening representative democracy through engaged and infor ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewster, Bill 1941 births 2022 deaths American pharmacists Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma 20th-century Members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Military personnel from Oklahoma People from Ardmore, Oklahoma People from Colleyville, Texas People from Marietta, Oklahoma Ranchers from Oklahoma Southwestern Oklahoma State University alumni United States Army soldiers Members of Congress who became lobbyists