W. Terry McBrayer
W. Terry McBrayer, founder of McBrayer law firm, passed away early Sunday morning, October 11, in Lexington after an extended battle with cancer, the firm announced. He was 83. McBrayer is survived by his children, Sarah McBrayer Savarie and John Lawton McBrayer, his sister, Judy McBrayer Campbell, and his five grandchildren, Alex McBrayer, Mina McBrayer, Odin McBrayer, Beatrice Savarie, and Lucy Savarie.
McBrayer founded the law firm in 1963 in Greenup, Kentucky, as a small practice with offices in a single room he rented above a grocery store. In 1966, McBrayer was elected to his first term of five terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives, eventually serving as House Speaker Pro Tempore and Majority Floor Leader.
McBrayer helped found the State Capital Group in 1989, and served as former President Bill Clinton’s Kentucky representative in 1992 and 1996. His numerous contributions include roles with the Kentucky Department of Commerce, Kentucky Housing Corporation, Greater Lexington Chamber of Commerce, Kentucky Board of Tax Appeals and more.
His civic contributions also include roles with the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees, Kentucky Educational Television, Central Kentucky Blood Center, the Kentucky Council on Higher Education, the Central Kentucky Heart Association and the Salvation Army.
Additionally, McBrayer received the John F. Kennedy Award, Hubert H. Humphrey Award, Outstanding Alumnus of Morehead State University, Outstanding Alumnus of University of Louisville School of Law, Junior Achievement Hall of Fame and many more recognitions.
Today, the firm that bears his name employs more than 50 attorneys, with offices in Lexington and Louisville, as well as a government affairs office, MML&K Government Solutions, in Frankfort, Kentucky.
A visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, October 14, at Milward Funeral Home on Southland Drive in Lexington. Due to COVID, the funeral service itself will be private and will be live streamed beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 15, at https://vimeo.com/event/374559.
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to his firm in care of Judy Campbell at 201 E. Main Street, Suite 900, Lexington, KY 40507. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Tates Creek Christian Church, 3150 Tates Creek Road, Lexington, KY 40502 or The Salvation Army, 736 West Main Street, Lexington, KY.