So sorry to hear of Don’s passing via my college’s (St. Louis University Parks College) magazine.  Our lives crossed for only one school year (1973-74), I as a 17 year old freshman aerospace engineering student and he as a mature older “vet” (Vietnam) in his senior year.  In that short school year we shared a class or two (I specifically remember calculus) and a 3 car chain collision on our ways home as commuter students (I was the middle car Datsun convertible (which I still own!) behind a Chevy Vega and he in the rear Ford Pinto-sadly for him, the one whose insurance became responsible! In the summer of ‘74 he also helped me raise fall tuition money by buying my Rogallo hang glider that I had built from a kit but had not yet successfully flown-I really needed the money! He eventually flew it at Warren Dunes, MI and showed me pictures so I knew someone actually flew in a flying machine that I had built.  And then our lives went their separate ways.  I did see him at a distance once in the 90’s when he was visiting a Colonel at my then employer (US Army Aviation Systems Command in St. Louis).  Then, in a June 2012 issue, I saw his name tied to a “Favorite Firearms” article in my monthly NRA Rifleman magazine.  In it was the story and pictures of a Luger pistol that his father (an ordnance sergeant in a P-47 squadron) had brought back from WWII. He credited his father’s stories with inspiring his aviation career, so I figured it had to be the same Don Brehm.  I found his phone number on the internet and called, luckily the right one! We had a nice long talk sharing interests: Lawrence KS connections, grandkids, airplanes, motorcycles, guns, and people we knew who survived crashes - him on a helicopter in Vietnam and 2 in his Piper Cub!  I’m sorry we didn’t stay in touch after that but he is one of those people that you never forget. I pray that his family has fine memories and are doing well, and again, offer my sincerest condolences. Robin Sova, Overland Park, KS

I am staff member of Jeffco Open Space and I worked with Don while he volunteered as a Park Patroller. We loved his commitment to our visitors and, especially, his favorite park: South Valley Park. My favorite memory of him occurred while I was off-duty at work. I ride a motorcycle. While riding home, he and were stopped at the same traffic light complimenting each others rides. He will be missed!

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Olinger Funeral, Cremation & Cemetery - Chapel Hill

Donald Brehm

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OBITUARY

Donald Lee Brehm

15 February, 1947 – 24 December, 2019

Olinger Funeral, Cremation & Cemetery - Chapel Hill

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