Kathy Lynn Smith Brewer

Kathy was born on February 21, 1952 in Charlotte, North Carolina to Rose Simril Smith Huneycutt and James Milton Smith. She grew up in Gastonia, North Carolina and attended Ashley High School until her senior year when she moved back to Charlotte and graduated from Garinger High School. She briefly attended Elon College and later Central Piedmont Community College.

Being adept with numbers, she worked in several different industries in the accounting field. She worked for Merita Bread, Mechanical Engineering Company, and First Union Bank, which later became Wachovia and then Wells Fargo. No stranger to hard work, Kathy had a wide array of skills—from sheetrocking walls to directing weddings. Kathy was very artistic and made various crafts.

Kathy was a member of Blair Road United Methodist Church. She had a heart for service and enjoyed contributing her time to charities. Included were the Methodist Youth Foundation, the Appalachian Service Project, and Habitat for Humanity. Kathy and her daughter, Melanie, were fortunate to meet former President Jimmy Carter several times where they discussed her participation with and appreciation for Habitat.

She was married to Kenneth Givens (dec. February 10, 2023) in 1970 and they had a daughter, Melanie. In 2000, she then married her true love John Brewer, who passed away January 20, 2011. She was a great Mom.

Kathy always prioritized spending time with her family. She loved any opportunity to make memories with the ones she cherished most. She also valued the time spent with her friends and her special “Girls Night Out” group of Jeanette Wood, Debbie Oates, Carol Faulk, Karen McGuirt and Kay Hodges. She had a passion for history and especially family genealogy. A very active member of the UDC, she was an Honorary President of the Division and twice the National Director of the CofC. She enjoyed travelling to conventions and attending concerts, movies and plays.

Those who knew and loved Kathy will miss her kind and joyful demeanor. She strived to do everything with a smile and to make a positive impact on the community around her.

In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her husband, John Edward Brewer; her stepfather, Millard Junior Huneycutt, whom she lovingly called “Paw”; sister, Sandy Smith Sigler, half-sister Victoria Broome and stepsister Joyce Ann Huneycutt; and brothers and sister in-law, Ruby (Glenn) Givens Hudson, James Givens, David Wise, Mike Bass, and Lawrence Denton.

Kathy is survived by her daughter, Melanie Wynter; very supportive son-in-law, Brian Hinson; her favorite niece, Jaime Harrington Bryan (Mark Watrous) and their children, Leona and Lucky Watrous; her aunts Joanne Simril Taft and Doris Simril and their children Dan (Beth) Simril and Carla (Ted) Monnich, Jamie (Leslie) Taft, and Melanie Lamb (Tim McGrath); and many other first cousins whom she loved very much; sisters by heart Connie Dedmon and Patsy Hawkins and their families; her stepsisters Donna Bass and Patty Wise; sister-in-law, Martha Denton; brothers-in-law Robert (Debbie) Givens and Charles (Jamie) Givens; nieces and nephews Lynn Hudson, Susan (Steve) Bray, Tisha Reed, Todd Hall, Angela Munoz, Michael (Kristina) Givens, Ryan (Alexa) Givens, Benjamin (Stephanie) Givens, Scott Honeycutt, Nikki (BD) Davis, Justin (Ann) Torrence and Michelle (Heath) Brown; and dogs, Tessa, Lola, and Sweetie and cat, Margie.

The family would like to extend a special thanks to the staff of Fresenius Kidney Care of Matthews, North Carolina, for their continuous care three days a week since January 2017.

If you wish to make a donation in Kathy’s honor, please consider the National Kidney Foundation, who actively provided regular assistance to her.

A visitation for Kathy will be held Sunday, January 12, 2025 from 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM at McEwen Funeral Service-Mint Hill Chapel, 7428 Matthews-Mint Hill Road, Mint Hill, North Carolina 28227, followed by a celebration of life at 6:00 PM.