Robert D. Brown

Robert D. Brown of Needham, MA, formerly of Weston, MA passed away at home after a brief illness on June 13, 2015. He was 92. Bob lived a full life, balancing his love for his family, a commitment to the communities he lived in, and a passion for bringing together the interests of government, business and citizens to turn idealistic plans into innovative realities. Bob is survived by his wife, Carol, his three sons, Doug (Jeanne), Steve (Lisa) and Nat and by six grandchildren. Bob and his younger brother Harry were raised by his widowed mother in Larchmont, NY. As a boy he began his lifelong love of tennis. He won the Westchester County Boys Doubles title as a high-schooler and went on to play throughout his life at the Larchmont Shore Club and the Hartford (CT) Tennis Club. He retired from the game, reluctantly, only at age 81. Bob attended the "3-2" B.A. and Masters in Engineering program at Middlebury College and M.I.T. He played for Middlebury's basketball team. Like most of his generation, his education was interrupted by World War II. He had two tours of duty as an Army engineer including one where he began the rebuilding of Nagasaki, Japan. In 1953 friends introduced Bob to Carol Hopkins and 11 months later this blind date turned into a wedding. They were an incredible couple, devoted to raising their three boys, spending time in the outdoors and traveling with friends and grandchildren. Early on, Carol embraced Bob's love of tennis and they played mixed doubles for decades. Despite this, they recently celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary. Bob was an engineer and city planner whose life work was to create beautiful cities and inclusive communities. After several years working as a city planning consultant, Bob was made the founding Director of the Capitol Region Planning Agency of Hartford, CT. The CRPA was the first planning agency to encompass the interests of a city and its surrounding suburbs, a model that has since been widely copied. After 12 years at the helm of CRPA, Bob left to become the Director of the New England River Basins Commission in 1971. He guided the NERBC in its mission to coordinate the improvement of water quality across all New England waterways. Today, because of programs initiated at NERBC, the Charles River is one of the cleanest urban waterways in the country. In the 1980s Bob worked for several residential real estate developers as a liaison to town planning and zoning boards and to various regulatory agencies. His practical, ethical approach allowed developers and regulators to cooperate in creating developments that were "sustainable" and "green" even before those terms were widely used. In retirement Bob served as the Chairman of the Weston, MA Planning Commission and was a founder of the Weston Affordable Housing Foundation. He was also an enthusiastic and active member of the Resident Council at the North Hill retirement community. His legacy will be the deep sense of integrity and fairness that he instilled in all who had the joy of living, working or playing with him. Bob's life will be celebrated at a service at the First Parish Church (349 Boston Post Road, Weston, MA) at 2:00pm, Wednesday, June 17. Reception to follow at the church. Memorial donations may be made to the Weston Affordable Housing Foundation, Inc. at P.O Box 171, Weston, MA. 02493 (WAHFI.org).