G. Sheldon Brayer '52
Deceased September 30, 2013
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50th Reunion Book Entry
In Memory
Our wonderful classmate George Sheldon Brayer (Shel, to most of us) passed away peacefully on Sept. 30, 2013, after a long illness, surrounded by family members. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Betsy; five children (three of whom went to Amherst); and 10 grandchildren.
Shel entered Amherst in the fall of 1948, having been raised in Rochester, N.Y. At Amherst he was a member of Delta Upsilon and manager of the basketball team, and later wrote that “it was more in the social than in the intellectual field that those four years of Amherst influenced me in building lifelong friendships with people of various backgrounds.” He was always gracious and affable. Following graduation, he served for four years in the Navy on a destroyer escort during the Korean War.
In the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Shel joined the Hickey-Freeman Co. in Rochester, where he worked for more than 50 years, eventually becoming national sales manager and director. He was elected to the board of directors in 1974 and authored the 1999 centennial history of the company. Shel outfitted numerous Ryder Cup teams and enjoyed meeting the top golfers of the day.
Over the years, Shel organized many class reunions and events, serving as president of the “First Sabrina” Class of 1952 for five years, and was an active alumni leader in Rochester and across western New York State.
Shel loved to travel, and his children have studied and lived all over the globe. He was very active in a number of community activities in Rochester, where his lineage goes back many generations. We will dearly miss Shel, one of the greatest personalities of our class.
A funeral mass was held Nov. 23 at St. Thomas More Church in Rochester.
> Harry H. “Tim” Westbay ’52