George "Mike" Vincent Brenneman Jr.

G. V. “Mike” Brenneman, Jr.

On Sunday, March 15, 2015, died peacefully at home in Bethesda, MD, surrounded by family. He was 83.

A native Washingtonian, Mike played an active role in shaping the city through a long career in real estate and was an early advocate of condominium and cooperative ownership. Among his notable achievements were the sales, leasing and management of the Watergate complex in Foggy Bottom, DC during its development stages in 1963-1969. Named “Marketing Man of the Year” in 1973 by the American Marketing Association, he went on to become president of the Washington, D.C. Association of Realtors and its 1986 Realtor of the Year; a director of the National Association of Realtors, the District of Columbia Building Industry Association, and the Metropolitan Washington Board of Trade; and was a founding member of the Washington Metropolitan Chapter of Community Associations Institute. A frequent speaker on real estate issues before national, regional, and local groups, he presented testimony on housing-related issues before various state legislatures and several U.S. Senate and Congressional Committees. He was active in Kiwanis and in Chevy Chase United Methodist Church.

The son of George Vincent Brenneman, Sr. and Edith Robinson Brenneman, he graduated from Sanford Preparatory School in Hockessin, Delaware, lettering in baseball, basketball, football and track. He attended American University on a basketball scholarship and later George Washington University. His marriage in 1951 to Judith Abbe of Rockville, MD, with whom he had four children, ended in divorce.

In 1971 he married Paula West of Washington, DC, with whom he had one child. At the time of their marriage, Mike was Vice President of Marketing for Rutenberg Homes, the largest division of U.S. Home Corp., in Clearwater, Florida. He returned to Washington, DC in 1973 to form Brenneman Associates, Inc., initially focusing on the development, marketing, management and re-sales of condominium and cooperative housing, and later moving into the acquisition, renovation and syndication of rental apartments and other investment properties. In later years, he formed Brenneman Property Services, focusing on property management.

An avid golfer, Mike was a founding member and the third president of Lakewood Country Club in Rockville, MD, and later an active and long-time member of Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, MD.

Survivors include beloved wife Paula Brenneman; children, Bruce Brenneman (Alice), Mark Brenneman (María Elena), Dale Brenneman (Arthur Vokes), Dean Brenneman (Márika), and Laura Brenneman; six grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and six nephews and nieces. He was predeceased by sister Dorothy Conelley Formant and half-brothers Carlyle V. Brenneman and William P. Brenneman.

Memorial service will be held 1:00 pm, Saturday, March 21, 2015, at Chevy Chase United Methodist Church, 7001 Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Chase, MD. Memorial contributions may be made to Montgomery Hospice, 1355 Piccard Drive, Suite 100, Rockville, MD 20850.