Countywide : Doctor Eulogized for Dedication, Humor

Mourners filled the Peek Family Colonial Chapel in Westminster on Sunday to say goodby to George Brauel, the UC Irvine doctor who died in a plane crash at Camp Pendleton while en route to Mexico on a humanitarian mission.

Brauel, 37, of Fountain Valley, another physician and two pilots died in the March 3 crash while flying to Los Mochis in a trip organized by LIGA International, also known as the Flying Doctors of Mercy.

Dr. Francis Markoe Dugan, also a physician at the UCI Medical Center in Orange and a victim in the crash, was buried Saturday.

The eulogies for Brauel repeatedly touched on his sense of humor, dedication and charity in both his life and his profession.

“He was blessed with an infectious smile, always accompanied with a joke,” said Eric Brauel, his brother. “His laughter was contagious as well.”

Dr. Chris Davies, Brauel’s brother-in-law, said he was “a rising star” who “will be sorely missed by his family and his many friends.” He added that Brauel probably would like to be remembered as a humanitarian more than anything.

“He was always one to live life at high speed, enjoying each day and each new experience,” Davies said. “Georgie always had a calmness, a joyful playfulness.”

Brauel, who expected to complete his residency this year, was “one of the best doctors I’ve ever known,” said Dr. Roger Crumley, chairman of the otolaryngology (department where Brauel worked.

Crumley added that Brauel “truly cared” about each of his patients and maintained a personal relationship with almost everyone in the hospital.

“Many doctors consider themselves humanitarians, but George led the list and set the scale,” Crumley said.

Investigators are still looking into the cause of the crash, although federal officials have said that poor weather might have been a factor.

Last week, National Safety Board investigator George Petterson said the plane carrying the four men was not equipped for instrument flying in inclement weather.