Widow of White House staffer killed in bike crash gives birth

WASHINGTON — Less than three months after losing her husband in a bicycle accident, the widow of a White House staffer has given birth to a baby girl.

“World, meet Garnet J. Brewer!” Mary Katharine Ham wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday. Her husband, Jacob “Jake” Brewer, died on Sept. 19 during the Ride to Conquer Cancer event in Howard County, Maryland. He was 34.

According to Ham’s post, the baby’s name comes from a special memory. Ham and Brewer took a hike above Garnet Canyon in Wyoming when she was pregnant with their first daughter. The middle initial, J, honors her father.

World, meet Garnet J. Brewer! At 7 lbs., 13 oz. & 21 in., she made her appearance after 5.5 hours of blessedly safe & awesome natural labor Nov. 28 at 5:15 am, reminding her mom this childbirth thing is no joke, hard core, & beautiful. Her middle initial is for her dad, Jake. Her first name comes from a memorable hike Jake & I did above Garnet Canyon in WY when I was 7 mos pregnant w our first. I feel confident he’d love the name and is proud of all us girls today. That’s Jake’s wonderful sister standing in as my birth coach in this pic of us a couple hours after the birth. We were home from the birth center in time for the Dawgs game! Big sis seems unfazed. Thanks for all the prayers and love. We will always miss Jake, but we know we are taken care of and so does he. Jer 29:11, Proverbs 31:25

A photo posted by Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammertime) on Nov 29, 2015 at 10:41am PST

“I feel confident he’d love the name and is proud of all of us girls today,” she wrote.

A Gofundme page created after Brewer’s death has raised nearly $430,000 to be used towards providing for Georgia and Garnet. The projected goal was $200,000.

NBC4 reports that Brewer worked as a senior adviser to the U.S. Chief Technology Officer. In a statement after Brewer’s death, President Barack Obama said Brewer had “a brilliant mind, a big heart and an insatiable desire to give back.”

“Michelle and I are praying for all of Jake’s family and his many friends, most of all his wife, Mary Katharine Ham, their daughter, Georgia, and their growing family,” he said. “They’ll always have a family here at the White House.”