Jerry Paul Brashear ’67

Jerry died July 13, 2022, from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at his home in Ashland, Ore.

Jerry grew up in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, graduating from high school there as president of his class, valedictorian, and captain of the football team. At Princeton he majored in psychology and sociology, roomed at 84-85 Patton with George Hayum, Rick Hesel, Tom Tillotson, Bill Dixon, and Hank Jackson, and was in Tower Club. He was active in Orange Key, played freshman football, was a student manager of the University Store, a Commons waiter, research assistant for both the psychology and politics departments, and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

Jerry got an MBA from Harvard in 1969 and a Ph. D in urban and regional planning from the University of Michigan in 1975. At our 50th reunion, he explained that he realized his business skills were applicable to public and government related organizations so embarked on a lifelong career in consulting for risk management of utilities, public and private infrastructure, and national security organizations. He spent 22 years with a small Washington, D.C., consulting company. In 1996, Jerry formed the Brashear Group, that included formation of a risk research program at the Univ. of Texas, Austin, and developed risk management and critical infrastructure planning across America for public and private organizations. He served on numerous industry boards and his firm won awards, honors, and volunteer service recognition across the nation, many of which are listed in our 50th Reunion book.

Jerry married Judith Carol Brinkley in December of 1967 and the couple had two daughters, Corbin, and Regan. He remarried in 1979 to Pamela Newton and the couple spent 46 years together. He enjoyed traveling, classical music, reading history, and time with his family.