John Matthews
WMAL.com
MT. AIRY, MD — (WMAL) A White House staff member was killed Saturday when he lost control of his bicycle during a charity bike ride in the Mt. Airy area of Howard County.
Jake Brewer, 34, of Alexandria, crossed a double-yellow line while taking a sharp curve on Old Frederick Road, and collided with an oncoming vehicle.
Brewer was taking part in the Ride to Conquer Cancer to honor a friend who was a cancer patient. His mother, Lori Brewer Collins, told the Washington Post her son ““lived life large and tended to live life for other people.”
Brewer’s wife, Mary Katherine Ham, is a conservative commentator, author and FOX News contributor, as well as a former WMAL radio personality. She formally broke the news Sunday in a post on Instagram.
“We lost our Jake yesterday, and I lost part of my heart and the father of my sweet babies. I don’t have to tell most of you how wonderful he was. It was self-evident. His life was his testimony, and it was powerful and tender and fierce, with an ever-present twinkle in the eye. I will miss him forever, even more than I can know right now,” she wrote.
Brewer worked as senior policy adviser in the White House Office of the Chief Technology Officer. In a statement released by the White House, President Obama said, “Armed with a brilliant mind, a big heart, and an insatiable desire to give back, Jake devoted his life to empowering people and making government work better for them. He worked to give citizens a louder voice in our society. He engaged our striving immigrants. He pushed for more transparency in our democracy. And he sought to expand opportunity for all,” the president said. “I’ve often said that today’s younger generation is smarter, more determined, and more capable of making a difference than I was as a young man. Jake was proof of that.”
In addition to Mary Katherine, Brewer is survived by the couple’s 2-year-old daughter, Georgia, and another child is on the way. A memorial education fund has been established for the children’s future. To make a contribution to it, you may click here.
Copyright 2015 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (PHOTO: Brewer family)
