Ira Brown

1927 - 2015

Ira Bernard Brown
1927-2015
Ira Bernard Brown, 88, passed away peacefully at his home on October 23, 2015 after a long illness. He was surrounded by his wife, Myra, and daughters Rene and Lori, as well as his
sister, Eleanor Epstein. He was a dedicated family man who is also survived by his brother Leonard of Knoxville, Tennessee and his youngest brother, Robert of Livingstone, NJ.
as well as 2 grandchildren, Henry and Cari, and a large extended family of cousins, nieces and nephews. He always enjoyed his family.
Services will be held Monday Oct 26 at 3pm in Kagan Rudy Chapel at Emanu El Memorial Park at 8341 Bissonet.
Ira was born in July, 1927 in Brooklyn, NY. He was a born entreprenuer. As a boy he had a newspaper route, delivered meat for a local butcher and even sold candy at his school, Samuel J. Tilden High School.
He studied mechanical engineering at the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY, graduating in 1949. After graduation he spent several years at sea as a ships engineer.
Returning to Brooklyn, he met Myra Dipkin at the end of 1953. They married on October 31, 1954. They relocated to the Philadelphia area where he worked for Westinghouse in Lester, Pennsylvania.
Daughter Rene was born in Philadelphia in 1956 followed by Lori in 1958.
While he did his masters degree at Drexel University, Ira fell in love with computers. He moved from engineering into computer programming. In the early 60's, the family relocated to Long Island, NY where Ira took a job as a data processing manager at Sperry Rand Corporation.
Eventually, Ira developed his own business based on a need he saw within the computer operations area. He started Systemp Corp in the late 60's eventually building it into the larger corporation Brandon Systems with over 30 offices around the country. Brandon went public in 1987.
Ira always enjoyed the arts, teaching his family to appreciate the opera and ballet, his favorites.
Upon retirement, Ira and Myra moved to Houston to be closer to his sister Eleanor and her family. In Houston, they became very involved philanthropically with both the Houston Ballet and the Houston Grand Opera. He served as a trustee on the board of both.
In addition, Ira created the "Children's Foundation of the Arts" based in the New York/New Jersey area and Houston, in which he gave grants and encouragement to children up to the age of 18, who were involved in the performing and fine arts. Several of the grant recipients went on to careers on Broadway, the Houston Symphony, etc. Throughout the 19 years of the foundation's existence more than 1000 children have benefitted from his generosity.
We also want to give special thanks to the caregivers who have helped him over the past 3 years. Particularly Lillie, Bea, Tierre, Margaret and Ora. Also special thanks to Olivia who has been looking after both Ira and Myra for the last 14 years.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Heart Association or the ERJCC of Houston.