C. Pennington "Penn" Brown

1937 - 2011

The Honorable C. Pennington "Penn" Brown of Epping, and Lincolnville, Maine, died September 27, 2011, at Hyder Family Hospice House in Dover after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. He was a son of the late David Dunning and Harriet MacNeille Brown of Glencoe, Ill.

Penn was born in Evanston, Ill., on September 20, 1937. He graduated from New Trier High School and Brown University. During his service in the U.S. Navy, he developed a love for the South Pacific that stayed with him throughout his life. After a brief stint at Marshall Fields & Co. in Chicago, Penn joined The New Yorker magazine in 1967 and later became the manager of the Boston advertising office. He retired in 2004 and went on to serve two and one-half terms in the New Hampshire State Legislature where he was on the Transportation Committee.

He was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, where he was a member of the choir and delighted in ringing the church bell for the 10 a.m. service.

Penn was passionate about sailing, especially Herreshoff-designed boats and the classic haj boats; classical music composed by J.S. Bach; pipe organs; and mid-coast Maine, especially Penobscot Bay and North Haven. He was an active member of the Camden Yacht Club. He cherished the time spent with his extended family in Maine every summer and always loved getting together with former New Yorker colleagues around the country.

Penn is survived by his beloved wife of 15 years, Susan Fockler; three children from a previous marriage–Jamie of Evans Head, New South Wales, Australia; Betsy of Alstonville, New South Wales, Australia; and Ben of Eugene, Ore.; brother David of Calabasas, Calif.; sister and brother-in-law, Tracy and Ward Wickwire of Mequon, Wisc., and Lincolnville, Maine; daughter-in-law Lisa and grandsons Mitchell and Oscar, of Evans Head, New South Wales; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A celebration of Penn's life will be held Saturday, Oct. 1, at 11 a.m. at St. John's Episcopal Church, 101 Chapel Street, Portsmouth. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Young Organists Collaborative, c/o St. John's Episcopal Church, 101 Chapel Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801.