LEWISTON, Maine — Peyton Brewer-Ross loved the game of cornhole. His brother said he loved it so much that he brought out the angled board and beanbags at every family gathering.
Brewer-Ross, 40, of Bath was playing the sport he loved on Wednesday, Oct. 25, when 40-year-old Robert Card opened fire at Schemengees Bar and Grille Restaurant. This was minutes after he had killed seven people at the bowling alley Just-In-Time Recreation about 4 miles away.
“He was a character. He didn’t meet anyone he didn’t like,” Wellman Brewer said of his younger brother.
Brewer-Ross was a dedicated pipefitter – a shipbuilder – at Bath Iron Works. He was a Star Wars fan and loved comics such as Superman.
His fiancée, Rachael Sloat, told People Magazine that he carried the persona of Superman over into his role as a dad to their 2-year-old daughter Elle.
“Superman is what he wanted to be for her,” Sloat told the magazine. “He wanted to be her hero, and he already was, it wasn't a title that he had to earn.”
The couple had just celebrated Elle’s birthday two weeks before his death.
"I want Elle to know that her father didn’t leave her on purpose," Sloat told the magazine. "He was taken from her, she was robbed of him."
Wellman Brewer said his fun-loving brother was the life of the party.
“He has a Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage Slim Jim jacket that he wore,” he said, noting the apparel choice that originated with a flamboyant professional wrestler. “Not too many people could pull that off.”
He added: “There’s a hole in our family now where he used to be. And it’s going to hurt for a while.”
Brewer-Ross was born in Farmington. He graduated from Westbrook High School in 2001, where he was a member of the wrestling team. After graduating, he worked for Bisson Moving and Storage in Portland.
For the last five years he has been working at Bath Iron Works, where he worked as a pipefitter. He was a member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Local S6 Education Committee.
The committee said in a statement released via the IAM that Brewer-Ross was a “kind upstanding member of our community.”
“His compassion for others caused him to join the Local S6 Education Committee where he did all he could to go above and beyond to support his fellow workers. His humor and good nature made him an excellent addition to our family of representatives and committee members,” the statement said, adding: “All those who have been caught up in this tragedy have been left with a painful void. Our hearts and thoughts are with everyone who has been impacted, especially Peyton’s partner and young daughter. We will grieve his tragic passing and mourn with all who knew him, but we will remember him for his kindness, compassion, and strong character.”
According to his obituary, he was a lifelong New England Patriots fan and a New York Yankees fan.
He was predeceased by his parents and two uncles. He was survived by his fiancée Rachael, daughter Elle, sister, four brothers, brother-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
A GoFundMe has been created for the family.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.