Hallie Ethel (Metzger) Brewer, 87, formerly of Council Grove, died Sunday, August 24, 2014, in Salina. Hallie was born March 7, 1927, in a Morris County farmhouse to Floyd and Eula (Corey) Metzger. Her father was a farmer until his untimely death when Hallie was six years old. Her mother then completed her teaching degree and taught in Council Grove. Hallie attended the Big John one-room school house and later graduated from Council Grove High School in 1945. Shortly after graduation, she married the love of her life, Dean Brewer, who arrived in Council Grove with the Army Air Force during World War II. The couple lived in Monroe, LA, Florence and White City before settling in Council Grove. Together they raised their two daughters, Judy and Becki.
When her oldest daughter went to college in 1965, Hallie took a job as the Council Grove school secretary. At that time she only planned to work for one year, but found a passion for education and only after 24 years of dedicated service retired in 1989.
She enjoyed lasting friendships derived from years spent in Neota Club, DAR, Colonial Dames, and Eastern Star. She was a lifetime member of the First Congregational Church, always willing to serve where needed. She was an avid bridge player and an expert quilter. Together, Hallie and Dean enjoyed participating in Country Club activities, going out on the town dancing and traveling. Their travels took them to nearly every state and Canada, but their favorite destinations to travel were to visit their daughters and their families. Hallie’s greatest joy was the home she built with Dean and the family they raised together. She devoted her life to creating a warm, loving home for her family and loved sharing that home with all of their many, many friends. Hallie moved to Salina three years after her husband’s death and remained there until her death seven years later. She lived at the Presbyterian Manor, made lasting friends and enjoyed many activities there.
Her parents, her husband Dean and three brothers, Michael, Eugene and Floyd, precede her in death. Survivors include two daughters, Judith Buchman and husband Daniel of Salina, and Rebecca Paulson and husband Charles of Edmond, Oklahoma; a brother Carleton Marak Metzger of Ankeny, Iowa; a sister-in-law Phyllis Metzger of Council Grove; four grandchildren, Teresa Chalker and husband Brad of Overland Park, Julie Reid and husband Ken of Salina, Deana Skalovsky and husband Stephen of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Jonathan Paulson and fiancé Erin Hoster of Edmond, Oklahoma, and three great-grandchildren, Joshua and Jordan Chalker of Overland Park and Seth Fredde of Salina.
The funeral will be at 1:00 p.m., Thursday, August 28, 2014, at the First Congregational Church. Prior to the service, a private family burial will take place at Greenwood Cemetery.
Family will receive friends after the service in the Fellowship Hall.
Memorials may be made to the Eula Corey Metzger Scholarship Fund in care of Penwell-Gabel, PO Box 273, Council Grove, KS 66846.