Samuel Brown IV, DDS

Samuel Brown IV, DDS died peacefully in his sleep at home on November 13. He was dentist to hundreds of Petalumans in his 53 years of practice between 1946 and 1999, when he retired at age 80. When asked why he did not retire younger, he would say, "I loved my patients and I loved my work." Dr. Brown was the only child of Samuel Brown III and Margie Jones Brown. He survived his devoted wife of 64 years, Margaret Tuttle Brown, who passed away in 2006. Dr. Brown graduated from Petaluma High School in 1936, College of Marin in 1938, and from the College of Physicians and Surgeons Dental School in San Francisco - now the University of Pacific Dental School - in 1942. He had married Margaret Tuttle in 1941. Upon graduation from dental school, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps where he served for three and one-half years in the Medical Corp, achieving the rank of Major. After WWII, they returned to Petaluma where Dr. Brown opened his dental practice in 1946. He is survived by his three children: Linda Jo Fitz of San Francisco, Sam Brown of Santa Rosa (Ginger Brown), and Patricia Tuttle Brown of Petaluma (Stephen Volz), and their cousins Bill Parent (Monica Parent) of Redmond, WA and Judy Parent Augustine (Ted Augustine) of Walnut Creek. He also leaves his four grandchildren, Sam, Peter, Stephen and Lillian and great grandson, Tyler. Dr. Brown was born in 1919 in San Francisco and lived most of his life in Petaluma, primarily in the house that he and his wife built on 10th Street. He descended from two pioneer Petaluma families. The Browns settled in Petaluma after arriving in California via the "Brown-Davis wagon train" out of St. Joseph, Missouri in the 1850's. Dr. Brown's maternal lineage, the Jones family of Bloomfield, California, descended from William Jones (Susan Carroll Jones) who also came to Sonoma County in the 1800's and were ranchers. His mother, Margie, worked as a nurse after having earned her nursing degree at what was then Stanford Hospital in San Francisco. Young Sam (IV) and his cousin Art Parent were raised together at 901 D Street, the home of their grandmother Harriet Brown, the wife of Samuel Brown II, who had earlier commissioned the plantation style home for her. Dr. Brown gave his time for many years as part-time dental instructor in the dental school of his alma mater in San Francisco. He was a lifelong member of the Redwood Empire Dental Society where he served as President. His community work in Sonoma County included efforts to encourage the fluoridation of water, membership on the Petaluma Library Board, as well as Lion's Club. He enjoyed sports and, in particular, basketball which he played in both high school and college. He was an avid reader, and he and his wife traveled extensively, discovering an undying love for the Hawaiian Islands in the early 1950's and journeying to six continents with life-long friends. Throughout his life he enthusiastically shared his interest in anthropology and foreign lands with his patients, his friends and his family. In a 1991 interview, he said "When I die, I hope that it is remembered that I cared for my family, my grandchildren, my parents and my friends; that I created an interest in the world and all its marvels in my children and their children. And, that I loved dentistry and tried to help people to the best of my ability." Funeral services will be held Sunday, December 5, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. at the PARENT-SORENSEN MORTUARY & CREMATORY, Petaluma, CA. Friends may also visit at the mortuary on Saturday, December 4, 2010 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations be made to: University of the Pacific, Dugoni School of Dentistry, 2155 Webster Street, S.F., CA 94115 or Pediatric Dental Initiative, 1380 19th Hole Drive, #100, Windsor, CA 95492.