Dr. William Brushwood Brown

BROWN, Dr. William Brushwood, of Gloucester, passed away peacefully in his home in Naxera surrounded by his family on the evening of June 27, 2010. He had been in declining health for a number of years. He was born on May 31, 1930 in Ware Neck, Va., and was the youngest of six children of Joseph Walter Brown and Thelma Virginia Robins. He attended Ware Neck School and graduated in 1947 from Botetourt High School. Dr. Brown graduated from the Medical College of Virginia School of Pharmacy in 1952 and the School of Medicine in 1956. After a residency in Danville, Va., he joined the Navy and worked at the Army Chemical Biological Center in Edgewood, Md. He served as a Naval Flight Surgeon on Midway Island from 1958 to 1960 after which he joined his brother, Raymond, in private practice in Gloucester for the next 12 years. During that time, he served as a state medical examiner and was an aviation medical examiner with the FAA. He was a Charter Diplomate of the American Board of Family Practice, a Charter Fellow of the American Academy of General Practice in New York and, twice, served as President of the Mid-Tidewater Medical Society. In 1972, he joined the U.S. Foreign Service and served as a Regional Medical Officer with posts in Burma, Liberia, South Africa, Portugal, Mexico, Panama and Barbados until he retired to Gloucester in 1993. He became an amateur radio operator in 1958 and remained active in state and national amateur radio organizations all his life. Dr. Brown lost his wife of 51 years, Frances Marie Tharpe, in 2005; and is survived by a son, William B. Brown Jr. and his wife, K. Layne Hastings Brown; a daughter, Sandra B. Robins and her husband, Hubel Robins III; and five grandchildren, Matthew and Emily Brown and Justin, Kelsey and Palmer Robins, all of Richmond. He is also survived by a brother, Joseph Walter Brown Jr. of Naxera; and many nieces and nephews. His family would like to express their heartfelt thanks to Nettie Howlett for her devoted care the past four years, other home caregivers and to Riverside Walter Reed Hospice Care. Dad loved you all and was blessed to have you. The family will receive friends at Andrews Funeral Home in Gloucester on Wednesday, June 30, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 1, at Singleton United Methodist Church in Schley, Va. Memorial donations can be made to Singleton United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 37 Schley, Va. 23154, or the Gloucester Volunteer Fire & Rescue Service, P.O. Box 1417 Gloucester, Va. 23061.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.