Clifford J. BROWN

Clifford J. Brown Retired science teacher Clifford J. Brown of Christiana died at home Monday, Jan. 12, 2004, after a courageous, nine-month battle with cancer. He was 79. Mr. Brown, a father of four and a decorated World War II veteran, was the last surviving child of the late Alfred and Bess Jennings Brown of Seaford, NY, having outlived his brother, Bill, and sister, Kay Brown Williams. Born in Brooklyn, he graduated from Bay Shore High School on Long Island, NY in 1942 and enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was a forward observer, radio operator, scout and tank destroyer throughout the European Theatre, with battle stars for allied campaigns including Normandy, the Ardennes, Central Europe, Northern France and the Rhineland. He specialized in eliminating snipers and securing locations for troops' advance, helping liberate numerous towns and prisoner of war impounds. He was awarded the Purple Heart after surviving the bombing of a stone farmhouse in Belgium, where he was buried under tons of rubble and initially believed dead. He was also honored by the government of France for his service in that country. After the war, he returned to NY, where he attended Union College in Schenectady and married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Loudon, whom he described as the only woman he ever loved. The Browns lived briefly in FL before moving to DE in 1951 to join the staff of Governor Bacon Health Center in Delaware City. There, Mr. Brown began a teaching career that would span more than a half-century and touch thousands of students. He later was hired by the Newark Special School District to teach at West Park Place Elementary School, then moved to the Jennie E. Smith Elementary School. Mr. Brown taught there for most of his career, including multiple generations of many local families, in classrooms filled with fish tanks, plants, and native and exotic animals. He enjoyed helping students find their individual gifts, teaching them to play chess, and encouraging them to appreciate humans' role in nature through projects such as raising and releasing monarch butterflies. As part of the effort to desegregate DE schools, Mr. Brown was reassigned to Christina School District's Bayard Elementary School in Wilmington. He retired in 1991. Until his illness, Mr. Brown continued teaching astronomy and Skylab summer camp programs at Mount Cuba Astronomical Observatory, where his students ranged from Cub Scouts to U.S. Coast Guard members. He was a longtime associate and member of the board of trustees at Mount Cuba. He was a life member, former officer and board member of The Fort Delaware Society, a citizens' group that worked to preserve the historic Pea Patch Island site before it was taken over by the state. He also was former president of the Delaware Aquarium Society. He supported many nature and science groups including Hawk Mountain Sanctuary near Kemper, PA. He was an Eagle Scout and had been a member of Armstrong Lodge #26 in Newport. He received his master's degree in education and studied for a PhD at the University of Delaware, served on state panels including the Zero Population Growth Study Group, and enjoyed participating in the National Science Teachers Association programs nationwide. He enjoyed living in historic Christiana and one of his favorite joys was running into former students all over the state, meetings that invariably started with "Hey, Mr. Brown!" In addition to his wife of more than 50 years, Mr. Brown is survived by his daughter, Betty J. Brown and her partner, Mike Schiller, of Seattle and Port Townsend, WA; his son, Christopher L. Brown, and his wife, Sharon, and their daughters, Shannon, Phoebe and Rhonda of Southwest Ranches, FL; his daughter and next-door neighbor, robin brown of Christiana; his daughter, Jo Brown and her husband, Steve Cullen, of near Roxana; and his beloved dogs, Black and Tan. Mr. Brown will be buried in the Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery near Summit. Burial will be private. A celebration of his life will be announced later. Instead of flowers, family members suggest memorial donations to Mount Cuba Astronomical Observatory, PO Box 3915, 1610 Hillside-Mill Rd., Greenville, DE 19807; or Compassionate Care of Delaware, 5610 Kirkwood Hwy., Wilmington, DE 19808. Arrangements by R.T. FOARD & JONES FUNERAL DIRECTORS & CREMATORY 302-731-4627 www.rtfoard.com