Ben Brown

1943 - 2018

Ben Maurice Brown, M.D.

March 7, 1943 - March 27, 2018

Ben cruised across the finish line at home in Sausalito, CA, surrounded by his wife and son. After a multilingual early childhood in Tel Aviv and Tehran, Ben's family settled in San Francisco. He studied philosophy and psychology at UC Berkeley, developing a passion for understanding the human brain, and worked summers as a state beach lifeguard.

After medical school at Stanford, Ben trained in Psychiatry, in the Jungian tradition. Swimming at Lake Lagunita, he met Claudia, his wife-to-be, an occupational therapy intern from Seattle. After a stint on the clinical faculty at University of Arizona, Ben returned to UC San Francisco to train as a radiologist. Ben next moved to Portland, OR for a position at a Kaiser hospital, and became chief of his section for nearly two decades. With specialities in neuroradiology and functional MRI, Ben stayed deeply devoted to improving brain healthcare through teaching and clinical research across his forty-year career.

Friends and family will remember Ben's joy for fast cars, European history, learning languages, and an eccentric array of jazz and new age music. At retirement, he moved to Sausalito, and dedicated himself to community-building roles as chair of the Historical Landmarks Board, Terrace Homeowners' Association, and monthly Biscotti & Cars gathering.

Ben's legacy will be carried on by his wife, Claudia Brower Brown, and son, Keith Brower Brown, of Oakland, CA; and, we hope, by the patients, colleagues, friends, and community members whose lives he touched. For those who wish to honor Ben, we request donations to San Rafael's WildCare, in memory of his enduring love for animals.