Samuel Abraham Brenner

Samuel Brenner, of Surfside and Aventura FL, passed away on August 3, 2014 at the age of 97. A loving and devoted husband, father, brother, and grandfather, he is survived by his son Bard(Brandi) of Sunny Isles Beach, FL, ; daughter Dr.Leona Brenner-Gati(George) and his grandchildren Robert and Stephanie of Princeton, NJ; brother Allan Cohen of Aventura, FL, brother Donald Brenner of Orangeburg, NY, and sister Rae Hartman, of Brooklyn, NY. He was pre-deceased by his wife of >70 years, Lillian, and by his brother Leo Brenner and Sally Berke.

Born in Chicago, Sam grew up in New York City and moved to Miami FL in 1945. Sam was Mayor and Poet Laureate of Surfside, FL, President of the Greater Miami World Federalist Association, active in the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, State of Israel Initiatives, Kiwanis, and other local civic associations, and was a prominent real estate broker, founder of Sam Brenner Inc, which he ran in partnership with his son Bard.

Sam's great loves in his life were his family and his poetry. His wife Lillian was the inspiration for the beautiful romance poems in his poetry anthology "Lingering Love". Another aspect of his poetry includes his political activism, as captured in his holocaust poem "Count to Six Million", which has been included in the US Congressional Record, and immortalized in a video of Sam reciting this riveting poem that has been viewed by synagogues across the US.