Brewen, William

William Joseph Brewen III

FREDERICKTOWN – William Joseph Brewen III, 75, of Fredericktown passed away January 26, 2023, at home in Farmington, Missouri. He was born July 9, 1947, at St. Mary’s of the Ozarks in Ironton, Missouri, to William J. Brewen Jr. and Virginia E. (Wiegenstein) Brewen of German Community in Madison County. He was united in marriage to Sue Ann Cooper of Fredericktown, Missouri, March 26, 1966.

Joe is survived by his wife Sue Ann Brewen; two sons, Bill (Leslie) Brewen, and Lucas Brewen; and one daughter, Amy (Michael) Umfleet; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; two brothers, Jerry (Sheila) Brewen, and John (Pam) Brewen; and two sisters, Margie (Tom) Green, and Susan (Kent) Franke; as well as many nieces, and nephews.

Joe was a veteran of the Vietnam War where he served in the US Army assigned to the 87th Engineer Company 199th Infantry Brigade. After his service he returned home where he farmed and began his career with the Missouri Department of Transportation that spanned 33 years. A career that left his fingerprints on road and bridge projects from St. Louis to Sikeston. After retirement from MoDot he began a second career for Shannon-Wilson Inc. that brought his experience to construction projects for another 15 years. He served for 10 years on the Madison County Health Department Board and advocated for bringing many new programs to the community. He volunteered his experience and leadership to the efforts that resulted in the new Health Department Building.

Joe was a lover of music, early on spending time playing guitar and singing in various bands in his youth, staying up to hear the Midnite Jamboree on WSM, and searching out new music to listen to while flying down the highway. He was widely travelled throughout his career and loved a good road trip, if you needed directions you could count on him to get you there and even a bridge or two to note along the way. A curious man, he constantly researched the things that interested him and stayed up to date on all the news and current events. He could talk to anyone about nearly anything and was a renowned storyteller and historian. Most people that encountered him would have a “Joe” story that they would recount when talking about him. Others knew him for the large garden and beautiful flowers diligently cultivated alongside his wife, Sue Ann.

He was a man that loved his family; that provided strength and compassion for all those that knew him. He loved doing things that benefited the greater good and devoted his life to it. His impact will live on far beyond those of us he leaves behind.

A Funeral will be held Tuesday, January 31, 2023, at Follis & Sons Chapel, 700 Plaza Drive in Fredericktown.

Brewen, William