Victims of Kenyan plane crash ~ the Brumleys
Hyfler/Rosner
share Africa's beauty with his family.
So this summer he chartered a plane for a safari with his wife, three of his
children and their spouses and the four eldest of his 14 grandchildren. All
12, and two South African pilots, were killed Saturday when the plane
crashed into Mount Kenya.
Brumley did not seek the civic limelight, but he and his family were well
known in medical and philanthropic circles. After his retirement as chairman
of the pediatric department at Emory University, he and his family pursued
charitable projects, including empowerment of inner-city residents and
helping the Atlanta Symphony.
Brumley was in his late 60s when he joined about a dozen Atlantans to climb
Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, said Dr. William McClatchey, a longtime friend who
also went on the climb.
"He came back from that experience saying he wanted to take his family,"
McClatchey recalled Sunday night.
He was not to be deterred when the scheduled air service he planned to take
to Nairobi was canceled due to terrorism concerns. He flew his family to
Johannesburg, South Africa, and arranged for the charter plane so he could
lead them on a trip to African game reserves.
The plane was to circle Mount Kenya to give the family a close view before
heading to the Masai Mara reserve in western Kenya, McClatchey said.
Rangers at Mount Kenya National Park heard the crash of the twin-engine
Fairchild turboprop Saturday evening. A search party reached the crash site
late Saturday, and other officials followed Sunday, but bad weather and
difficult terrain 16,000 feet above sea level prevented the recovery of
bodies. Another attempt was to be made today, The Associated Press reported.
The plane hit Point Lenana, the third-highest peak on Africa's
second-highest mountain, as a cloudy sky was beginning to clear just before
sunset Saturday, said Bongo Woodley, senior Kenya Wildlife Service warden in
charge of Mount Kenya National Park.
Peter Wakahia, a Kenyan civil aviation official, said debris was scattered
on two rock outcrops on either side of the point of impact.
According to Jim Tsokanos of Manning, Selvage and Lee, a public relations
firm in Atlanta:
George Brumley Jr., 68, and his wife, Jean Stanback Brumley, 67, were
killed, along with members of the families of three of their five children:
George Brumley III, 42, his wife, Julia Preston Brumley, 42,
their son George William Brumley IV, 14, and daughter Jordan McNeill
Brumley, 12. They lived in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Elizabeth Brumley Love, 41, her husband William Jenkins Love, 41, and their
daughter Sarah Jennings Love, 12, of Atlanta and London. They lived in
England, where Bill Love represented Atlanta-based Printpack, a packaging
company with plants in the United States, Mexico and Britain. Their three
younger children had stayed behind in Johannesburg because they were too
young for the safari trip.
Lois Brumley Morrell, 39, her husband Richard Morrell, 43, and their son
Alexander Brumley Morrell, 11, of Atlanta. They left their two young
daughters at home in Atlanta. The Rev. Kim Richter, pastor of Grace Covenant
Presbyterian Church in Asheville, N.C., told The Asheville Citizen-Times
that she accompanied Morrell's mother to Atlanta on Sunday to break the news
to the girls.
The Brumleys' surviving children, twin daughters, live in Atlanta: Marie
Brumley Foster and Nancy Brumley.
All five of George and Jean Brumley's children joined them in working to
help Atlanta's Whitefoord neighborhood, McClatchey said.
"He wanted to do something to help the inner city, and he had a conviction
that the only way to do that was to empower the people who lived there,"
McClatchey said. The family charitable foundation donated money to, among
other things, establish a health center at Whitefoord Elementary School.
The Whitefoord program was studied by Carter Center officials when they
launched the Atlanta Project, McClatchey said.
George Brumley had a fierce passion for helping disadvantaged children, a
cause to which his entire family was committed through the Zeist Foundation,
said Charles H. McTier, president of the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation.
"George was not only a visionary leader, he was a very, very compassionate
soul," McTier said. "He cared most about the children --- that was the
center point of his compassion. His great concern for the children their
well-being, their health and development."
The Zeist Foundation gave thousands of dollars to a host of metro Atlanta
charities, including the Atlanta Children's Shelter, Covenant House Georgia,
the Children's Aid Fund and Hospice Atlanta. McTier said the foundation's
causes were embraced by more than just George Brumley.
"The entire family was committed to all the good works of the Zeist
Foundation," said McTier, who had known the Brumleys for about 20 years
through common philanthropic work. "They were a great example for all of us.
It's just a huge tragedy that that example has been lost."
The Brumleys also were major contributors to the fund drive for a new
Symphony Hall, McClatchey said. And they were leaders at Trinity
Presbyterian Church, where the elder George Brumley recently chaired a
committee to choose a new pastor and Jean Brumley helped lead an $18 million
capital campaign.
Another member, John Oglesby, said, "This is the Orly crash for Trinity." He
referred to the June 3, 1962, crash at Orly Field near Paris that killed 106
Atlantans and 24 others. Many of the dead were business and arts leaders on
a tour sponsored by the Atlanta Art Association.
McClatchey said Brumley's life progressed from one remarkable stage to
another: skilled neonatologist; medical administrator at Duke University and
then Emory; and a philanthropist who wanted results, not credit.
His approach seemed to be summed up as he climbed Kilimanjaro. Brumley
wasn't interested in reaching a particular peak. "He kept saying everyone
who climbed . . . would have a personal summit," McClatchey recalled.
And Brumley found his at a mile-wide volcanic crater.
"His personal summit was the crater," McClatchey said. "He said this is as
far as I'm going today."
Hyfler/Rosner
Profiles of the airplane crash victims
George W. Brumley Jr.
Dr. George W. Brumley Jr., 68, grew up in St. Marys. He received both his
undergraduate and medical school degrees from Duke University, with
postgraduate training in pediatrics and neonatology. He served in the Navy
as a physician in Newfoundland. He taught at Duke for 19 years and
co-directed the Division of Perinatal Medicine. The family moved to Atlanta
in 1981 so he could take the chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Emory,
where he later served as interim dean of the medical school. He retired in
1995 and then helped start several nonprofit organizations, including the
Whitefoord Community Project -- an inner-city, education and health program
for children and families, based in Atlanta. He currently was chairman of
Project Grad -- a public-private nonprofit effort to support enhanced
performance in city public schools.
Jean Stanback Brumley
Jean Stanback Brumley, 67, graduated from Duke University in 1958 and was a
mother of five. Her children included: George W. Brumley III, Lois Brumley
Morrell, Elizabeth Brumley Love and twins Marie Brumley Foster and Nancy
Brumley. She had 14 grandchildren. After moving to Atlanta in 1981, she
served on the advisory board of Families First. She was an active board
member for 11 years and was a past chairwoman. She served for 15 years in
various roles with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and currently was serving
as a member of the board's executive committee. She was a board member of
the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and recently had chaired a
successful capital campaign at Trinity Presbyterian Church. She and her
husband created the Whitefoord Project. She was vice president of their
family's Zeist Foundation, a private, family charitable foundation
established in 1989.
George W. Brumley III
George W. Brumley III, 42, lived in Chapel Hill, N.C. He received his
undergraduate degree from Emory University and his MBA from Duke University.
He was chairman and CEO of Oak Value Capital Management, an investment
management firm he began with a partner in 1990. He was involved as a board
member in several North Carolina environmental organizations and at Durham
Academy, where his two children, George William Brumley IV, 14, and Jordan
McNeill Brumley, 12, attended school and where he recently served as the
architect of financial strategies for capital facilities expansion. The
children also died in the crash.
Julia Preston Brumley
Julia Preston Brumley, 42, was originally from Chapel Hill. She graduated
from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and also attended the
Culinary Institute of America and Cordon Bleu. Her interests included mental
health issues, education, child well-being and Planned Parenthood. Along
with her husband, George, she was actively involved in the school life of
her two children.
William Jenkins Love
William Jenkins Love, 41, had lived in London since 1998, working as the
director of sales and marketing for the European branch of his family's
company, Printpack, which produces packaging for the consumer products
industry. He earned an undergraduate degree from Duke University and a
graduate degree from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke. He grew up in
Atlanta, where his father, J. Erskine Love Jr., created and developed
Printpack. The company employs 4,300 people and posted sales of $1.1 billion
in 2002. It operates plants in the United States, Mexico and Britain.
Elizabeth Brumley Love
Elizabeth Brumley Love, 41, lived in London with her husband, William, and
their four daughters. In 1984, the Loves both received their undergraduate
degrees from Duke, where they met. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in clinical
psychology from Emory University. Her interests included mental health
issues and organizations serving children. She also co-chaired special
events for nonprofit organizations and was involved in her children's school
activities. The family was planning to return to their Atlanta home later
this year. Their daughter Sarah Jennings Love, 12, also died in the crash.
Richard Morrell
Richard Morrell, 43, was married to George and Jean Brumley's daughter Lois.
An Asheville, N.C., native, Morrell moved to Atlanta as an adult. He
practiced product liability law for seven years, but left his practice to
become a clinical psychologist and board member of Whitefoord. He was to
begin full-time clinical work in September and expected to receive his Ph.D.
next year.
Lois Brumley Morrell
Lois Brumley Morrell, 39, was a registered nurse who worked in neonatal
hospital nurseries until her children were born. She was involved with
Hospice Atlanta, which offers end-of-life care. The couple's son Alexander
Brumley Morrell, 11, also died in the crash. The couple had left their two
Echoes
>
> George Brumley decided on Mount Kilimanjaro two years ago that he had to
> share Africa's beauty with his family.
>
> So this summer he chartered a plane for a safari with his wife, three of his
> children and their spouses and the four eldest of his 14 grandchildren. All
> 12, and two South African pilots, were killed Saturday when the plane
> crashed into Mount Kenya.
Fate can be such a cruel beast. Such a pity as he sounds like a wonderful man.
We need his kind for what they do and the example they set.
hjenn...@st.catherines.org
> That was my family. My mom and dad are bill and beth love and my big sister is sarah. I was 1 when it happened but i am 12 now