George A. Brugger
He Lavished Endless Energy On His Family and Community
By Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb  Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, January 1, 2006
George A. Brugger used to say that a big part of life was showing up -- at   weddings, birthdays, Christmas parties, christenings, funerals. Be present for people, he counseled. And throughout his life, he heeded his advice.
With abundant energy and a focus on excellence, Brugger showed up in many   different arenas during his multifaceted life and left a lasting impression   wherever he went. He relished his role as head of his extended family; he helped shape communities in Prince George's and Charles counties as a real estate lawyer; he raised money for charitable causes; and he worked for 20 years to make the Federal District Courthouse in Prince George's a reality.
						As a real estate lawyer, George A. Brugger, shown with his wife,               Ann, helped communities blossom in Prince George's and Charles               counties. (Family Photo)
At the law firm he co-founded in Greenbelt in 1975, Fossett Brugger Chartered, Brugger frequently was referred to by clients as the big guy. At 6 foot 3 and nearly 200 pounds, he was a man of size and   stature.
He had a commanding presence, said William M. Shipp, a principal in the firm. He had a booming but controlled voice. Shipp said he also had great posture and always was dressed well, the mark of  a man who recognized that you're always on  and always have to be prepared for whomever, and whatever, you may encounter.
Although he was serious in his work and was taken seriously, Brugger kept  the fun things of life close at hand. He enjoyed high-performance cars, such as BMWs and Mercedes, and could answer obscure questions about exotic fish and reptiles, which he had raised.
For a number of years at Christmas, Brugger would don red Santa Claus pants and stand at the front door of the law firm wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. He wasn't afraid to make that kind of bold statement to show that he cared about people, said his sister, Trina Leonard.
On Dec. 5, a few weeks before he could slip into his red pants, Brugger died of esophageal cancer at his home in Washington. He was 64. He had also lived in Potomac and Chevy Chase and had spent most of his career working in Prince George's.
He was part of a visionary group of people in the county who helped  communities blossom where fields once dominated. As a lawyer focused largely on real estate development, particularly land-use issues, he was able to help some of the state's largest developers construct homes and commercial buildings. As head of Prince George's County Economic Development Corp., he   pushed to attract businesses to the area and improve county schools.
Ann Brugger said she can see her husband's imprint across the county, in communities such as Greenbriar and Woodstream in Greenbelt and the Laurel Lake Shopping Center in Laurel.
Not everyone agreed with Brugger's push for zoning changes in their communities. In 1998, some Calvert County residents booed him at a meeting regarding sewer bans. I've been a zoning lawyer for a long time, and I'm used to wearing a rubber suit to fend off flying tomatoes he said then, adding that he was disconcerted by the incivility.
A native of Erie, Pa., Brugger moved to Washington as a child and attended  St. John's College High School. He graduated from Gannon College in Erie in 1963 and from Georgetown University Law Center in 1967. He worked for Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy at the Department of Justice and then for   the Air Transport Association of America as manager of public affairs. He   joined the law firm of Beatty & McNamee in Hyattsville in 1969 and then co-founded his private practice with Clarence Fossett.
When his father died in 1979, Brugger, who was 38 at the time, readily accepted a new role as father figure for his three younger sisters and protector for his stepmother. He perfected the art of brothering, Leonard said.
When Leonard and her sisters Lisa Wagner and Louise Caldwell married, it was Brugger who walked them down the aisle.
Family was an important part of who he was, family members said. He enjoyed hosting large family dinners and was in his element grilling salmon and lamb chops. He loved spending time with his children and grandchildren, sharing family history.
As much as he loved his summer home in Vero Beach, Fla., where he could sit on the dock and watch manatees and dolphins jumping, he never considered moving there permanently, his sister said.
He wanted to be present, and close by, for his family. We should live our lives as a family,he would say.