Obituary of Edward Osgood Brown
Edward (Ned) Brown, MD, passed away on January 11th in Longmont, Colorado, following a year-long struggle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). He was 77 years old.
Ned was born on January 23, 1931, in Santa Fe, NM, to Robert O. Brown, MD, and Rosina Bergere Luna. After completing elementary school in Santa Fe, he enrolled in St. Marks Preparatory School in Southborough, MA. He was a multiple-sport letterman at St. Marks, excelling in football. He was also a member of the choir and earned many academic honors.
Following graduation from St. Marks, Ned attended Harvard University where he majored in biochemical sciences and pre-medicine and was a member of Harvard’s hockey team. Following graduation from Harvard in 1952, he attended Columbia University, School of Medicine, graduating with a Doctorate of Medicine in 1956. Ned served in the Army Medical Corps earning the rank of Captain while serving in Germany. It was during this time that Ned chose OBGYN as his area of emphasis in medicine. He then completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Cornell/New York Hospital in 1963.
In 1963 Ned moved to Boulder, CO, where he practiced obstetrics and gynecology for over 23 years. In 1987, he moved to Corning, NY, where he continued his practice with the Guthrie Organization. He returned to Colorado in 2000 following his retirement from medicine.
Ned was a very generous and loving person, who experienced his greatest joy when helping others. As a boy, he was heavily influenced by his father’s dedication to medicine and the community. Medicine was Ned’s first love, and the care and well-being of his patients were the first priority in his life. He was an accomplished skier, and served on the Medical Ski Patrol in Keystone, CO, for many years. He enjoyed singing, and was a member of The Harvard Choir and sang a short time in the Longmont Barbershop Quartet. Ned loved to dance. He also was an avid guitarist, and enjoyed singing Spanish folk songs with family and friends. He had a flair for cooking, particularly when preparing the Mexican and southwestern cuisine from his native Santa Fe.
He is preceded in death by a sister, Rosina Smith-Willson, and two brothers, Robert Brown and Leonard Smith. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Gail Ahlberg Brown, daughters Sloane Brown of Baltimore, MD, Lisa Griffin of Aurora, CO, and Phyllis Biederman of Sebastopol, CA, a son Edward (Ned) Brown, of the South Pacific Islands, step-daughters Lisa Stegall-Dokoozlian of Modesto, CA and Holly Stegall of Longmont, CO, sisters Eloisa Brown and Dorcas Titcomb of Albuquerque, NM and grandchildren Kate and Michele Griffin of Aurora, CO, Drew and Tula Biederman of Sebastopol, CA and Bailey, Nicholas and Benjamin Dokoozlian of Modesto, CA.
Special thanks go out to VistaCare Hospice, brother-in-law Van Ahlberg, and wife Gail’s family for their loving and dedicated care during Ned’s illness.
A memorial service will be held at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Longmont, CO on Friday, January 23, at 1 PM.