Henry "Hank" Browne

1932 - 2025

With sadness and love, we, his daughters Tracy Browne, Leslie Browne and Kari Browne announce the passing of our father, Henry James Browne, who left us peacefully on November 26th, 2025, at the age of 93.

Our father was a nationally recognized and well-regarded architect whose visionary designs and lifelong dedication to the built environment left an indelible mark on the communities he built, the properties he restored, and the environment in which he worked.

Born in Hamden Connecticut, Hank developed an early fascination with form, structure, and space that blossomed into a celebrated career spanning more than seventy (70) years. After graduating from the Architectural School at the University of Virginia in 1955, he embarked on his successful career and rose to prominence with a creative imagination for the potential new use of buildings and sites, with sensitivity to scale and knowledge of classical details – from the big picture down to tiny details.

Continuing his interest in historic buildings, Hank, as the United States representative, graduated from the International Center, Restoration of Monuments and Sites (ICROM) in Rome, Italy in 1984.

Throughout his career, he was responsible for or contributed to numerous landmark projects including the U.S. Treasury Building Interior and Skylight Restoration and the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials Preservation Planning in Washington, DC. More locally, significant projects at the historic Michie Tavern and The Miller School, as well as the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia, and numerous other historical structures across Virginia, West Virginia, and South Carolina.

As one of the founders of Grigg, Wood, Browne Architects, Hank mentored generations of young architects, fostering a culture grounded in curiosity, technical rigor, and empathy for places of old and the people who built them. Throughout his career, his influence extended beyond the drafting table into the industry, through lectures, speaking engagements, and the writing of architectural guidelines for historic structures and towns thus advocating for the importance of architecture and the preservation of historic structures and sites.

In a personal quest, Hank embarked on the restoration of Walker's Mill in Gordonsville, Virginia, circa 1783 (used by Peter Jefferson, father of Thomas Jefferson) and subsequently was awarded the 1987 Preservation Award from the Preservation Alliance of Virginia. In 2010, he received the prestigious Milton L. Grigg FAIA Award from AIA Central Virginia. In later years he became an author, publishing two books on the historic and often forgotten ruins of Virginia and Maryland. He also became an accomplished painter filling our homes with a collection of his paintings of his travels and his love of barns.

Hank was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and a devoted Wahoo fan until his last days.

We sat with our father during his final days, and while sad, we are so grateful for the time we had with him and the numerous, wonderful memories of him living with us for the past 6 years. As a father, he taught us to be independent, to work hard, to treat all as equals, and to be compassionate. His legacy is not only in the memories we carry, but in who we have become because of him.

In addition to being survived by his daughters, he leaves behind his sons-in-law Jeff Grounds, Clark Gathright and Sushil Wagle, his much-loved grandchildren, Carson Stone and Adelaide Stone, and countless friends and family whose lives he touched.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, January 17, 2026, at 12:30 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church in Charlottesville followed by a celebration of life service at Farmington Country Club at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, we ask that donations be made in his honor to Hospice of the Piedmont to acknowledge the exceptional care he received.