Sterling Grant Brisbin

Sterling Grant Brisbin passed away peacefully on May 11, 2026, in Sarasota, Florida.

Sterling,“Briz,” was born in 1929 in Gloversville, NY. He graduated from Gloversville High School, and then MIT, where he earned both his Bachelor’s (1950) and Master’s degrees (1951) in Civil and Sanitary Engineering.

After two years of active duty in the Army Corps of Engineers, primarily stationed overseas, Sterling returned to the United States and worked in R&D developing new equipment and processes for waste treatment. Shortly thereafter, he launched a successful career designing innovative wastewater treatment facilities as a consulting engineer. His award-winning projects were constructed mostly in upstate New York. He published several papers in professional journals, was listed in Who's Who in Engineering, and served as an adjunct professor at Cornell University, teaching a graduate course in Industrial Waste. He retired as the managing partner of Stearns and Wheler, in Cazenovia, NY, a firm that he and his exceptional partners grew tenfold during his tenure.

An avid hunter, Sterling enjoyed hunting both birds and game. He and his wife, Joan, raised two litters of German Shorthaired Pointers and took great pleasure in training and working with three of these dogs in the field. He was also passionate about golfing and was a member of the Cazenovia, Onondaga, and Mission Valley Golf Clubs. In addition to his outdoor pursuits, Sterling was a master woodworker. He grew, harvested, milled, and finished cherry and maple wood into beautiful furniture and carvings, many of which his family cherish. Later in life, he took up sculpture and became a prolific creator of busts and other artistic pieces. For nearly ten years, he volunteered to teach sculpting classes at the Glenridge Art Studio.

Sterling is predeceased by his son Sterling Grant Brisbin, Jr (Mary Jenneskens), and his sisters Margaret Mahar (Tony) and Shirley Brown (Doug). He is survived by his devoted wife of 72 years, Joan Cooke Brisbin, his son James Cooke Brisbin, and daughter Elizabeth Brisbin Mullard (Tom), grandchildren Sterling James Brisbin (Maggi), Theodore Ross Brisbin (Miriam), Aimee Yvonne Brisbin (Edwin), Eleanor Brisbin Mallia (Will), and Margaret Mae Mullard, as well as two great grandsons Theodore Callan Brisbin and Henry Grant Mallia.

A private family memorial service is planned at his woodlot and hunting grounds in upstate New York this summer. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Elizabeth Mullard Cancer Research Fund,  http://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/EMCRF. To contribute by check, please write "Elizabeth Mullard Cancer Research Fund Giving Page" in memo line, and send to: Giving Pages, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Division of Development & the Jimmy Fund, 10 Brookline Place West, 5th Floor, Brookline, MA 02445, 617-582-8393.