Peter Brown

Peter William Brown passed away peacefully at the age of 79 on Friday February 13th, 2026 in the company of family and friends at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, MA after a courageous battle with Parkinson's Disease. He was born in Pittsfield on September 14th, 1946 to James I. Brown and Rose S. Maloney Brown.

Peter is survived by his husband of almost 20 years, Robert Chok, as well as two children - David (Pittsfield) and Ryan Brown (Boston) and their mother Diane Brown. Additionally Peter is also survived by four siblings - Dan Brown and wife Muriel of VT, and Jim Brown, Susan Brown, and Anne Brown - all of CT. He also leaves behind his cherished pets Taitt and Deva.

Peter graduated from Lee High School in 1964. He attended Northampton Community College prior to joining the United States Air Force to serve his country. After his service in the Air Force he attended American International University in Springfield, MA.

He spent much of his life residing in Massachusetts (Lee, Stockbridge, Pittsfield, Ipswich, and most recently Lenox). In 2007, after six years together, Peter and his partner Bob proudly married, taking full advantage of Massachusetts being the first state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage. Family and friends recall this to be a milestone moment in his life's journey, with barely a dry eye in the house. They jokingly cherished the congratulatory letter from the White House which was addressed to Mr. and Mrs., and it remains framed in their home.

He rose through the ranks at Lee Bank with a work ethic second to none and after 40 years of employment he retired as CFO and Treasurer. He was fiercely loyal and was loved everywhere he went - right up until the final days when he would so naturally make nurses and doctors laugh with his sense of humor. His humor was dynamic - running the full gamut from dry, witty, and sarcastic to extremely lighthearted and playful. His friends and family often described him as a sweet and tender man, someone with a true special light. He was jokingly referred to as the mayor of Lee because he could barely walk down the street without running in to someone he knew. He earned a place in the Dad Hall of Fame for so many things, including the number of hours spent in parking lots waiting for Ryan and David at baseball card shops and guitar shops respectively.

Peter and Bob relocated to Florida for a number of years after they both retired, eventually moving back home in late 2019 to be closer to family, friends, and beloved 10 degree winters. They traveled extensively - from Rome to Paris to London to Hawaii to Alaska to Palm Springs to Central America and countless destinations in between. And of course causing just enough trouble in some of their favorite repeat destinations like Qqunquit, ME and Provincetown, MA.

Peter loved to dine out and explore restaurants. Anything except tomatoes, he hated tomatoes. If you ever saw Peter at the bar at the Lion's Den with a glass of wine that is probably exactly where he wanted to be in the world at that moment. He enjoyed researching genealogy over the years, right up until his final days. He was magnetic with animals, and he and Bob adopted multiple rescue dogs over the years. Bob and Peter had five dogs (one living - Deva) and recently added a cat named Taitt to the family.

His family and friends would like to thank his husband Bob who served as his primary caregiver in his final years. Bob dedicated his life to caring for Peter until his last breath, ensuring he was able to remain at home as long as possible and be surrounded by love.

Per Peter's wishes there will be no services. He will be cremated and ashes laid to rest at the Veterans Cemetery in Sarasota, FL. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in his name to the Berkshire Humane Society in care of Dery Funeral Home, 54 Bradford St, Pittsfield, MA 01201.