House Appropriations & Budget Chair Rep. Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston, today issued a statement remembering his friend and former Rep. William ""Bill"" Brewster, who passed away Oct. 3 at his home in Marietta.

Brewster served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1983 to 1990 and for Oklahoma's Third Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1990 to 1997.

""Bill was a giant of a man, beloved by all, who had the interests of Oklahomans at heart,"" Wallace said. ""Whether supporting public school reform such as House Bill 1017 or energy policy on the national level, as well as many other policy issues, Bill was a true public servant, willing to sacrifice personally to achieve a better outcome for others. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.""

Wallace said he knew Brewster and his wife Suzie for 20 years and they were the first people to ask him to run for a seat in the state Legislature. It was Brewster's love for the outdoors and raising whitetail deer that helped cement their friendship, Wallace said. Brewster most recently served on the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission, appointed by former Gov. Mary Fallin.

Bill Brewster is scheduled to lie in repose from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., today, Thursday, Oct. 6, in the Oklahoma State Capitol in the second-floor Rotunda. A short program is scheduled at 1 p.m. A visitation will follow from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Flanagan Watts Funeral Home in Marietta. A celebration of his life is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7, at Crystal Rock Cathedral in Ardmore.

He is survived by his wife, Suzie; his daughter, Karel; and his grandson, Braxton Billy Kent Brewster.