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Stewart Birbrower, Peekskill Native, 78

POUND RIDGE, N.Y. -- Stewart Mark Birbrower,  a former Pound Ridge resident, advertising executive, commercial film director and artist, died on Saturday, June 14 in Ventura, Calif., after a brief illness. He was 78.

Stewart Mark Birbrower, a former Pound Ridge resident, died at age 78.

Stewart Mark Birbrower, a former Pound Ridge resident, died at age 78.

Photo Credit: Contributed
Birbrower worked in advertising and film.

Birbrower worked in advertising and film.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Birbrower was born Sept. 9, 1935, in Peekskill, N.Y., to Rose and Solomon Birbrower. He attended Peekskill High School where he played football, basketball and baseball. 

On weekends, he often helped his father, who owned The Brown Street Hat Factory, making ladies’ hats. He attended Syracuse University where he played shortstop on the varsity baseball team.

Shortly after graduation in 1958 with a degree in fine arts, Birbrower married his high school sweetheart Sylvia Soskel and a year later, with a baby on the way, he decided to pursue an opportunity in advertising.

The Birbrowers raised their family in Pound Ridge, where he was an active member of the community as a Little League coach and volunteer fireman.

Birbrower spent the next 50 years in advertising, eventually becoming executive creative director of Young & Rubicam, at the time the world’s largest advertising agency.

During his career, he won dozens of awards including multiple Cannes Film Festival Awards, Clios, Tellys, Andys, and One Show Awards.

The Birbrowers retired to Kiawah Island in South Carolina in 1999 and later moved to Ventura, Calif.

He is survived by his wife, his four children, Amy and her spouse Michael, Doug and his spouse Tena, Wendy and her spouse Chris, and Cliff and his spouse Kim; his brother Barry, his sister Judy, and his nine grandchildren, Gabriel, Jordan, Rebecca, Sydney, Owen, Sophie, Helena, Phoebe and Isaac.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 26, in Westchester County, at a time and place to be determined.

In lieu of flowers, send a contribution to BTFmovement.com, a charity Birbrower has been working with whose mission is to empower people with the knowledge and support to combat addiction.

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