Lucian G. Brown

1932 - 2021

Lucian Gilbert Brown passed away July 16, 2021. Lou was born Oct. 28, 1932, in Winchester, Mass. He was the only child of Lucian Gilbert Brown, at whose funeral he was christened, and the former Mary Adelaide Ward. Orphaned at thirteen, Lou developed a lifelong gratitude to the YMCA for helping him find an outlet in athletics. He graduated in 1951 from Quincy High School, where he played football, ran track, and served as a class officer. There he met classmate Helen Louise Hughes, with whom he would remain together for seventy years after their senior prom. Lou attended Bates College and played football there for two years and served two years in the U.S. Army before he began a career of forty-two years at IBM. He later graduated from Northeastern University in 1964. Lou and Helen married in 1956 and remained in the Quincy area until they moved in 1967 to Springfield, Va. They lived there and in Annandale for forty-three years except for two separate years in Westchester County, New York. Lou was long an active member of Holy Spirit Church and later Saint Ambrose Church. After his retirement from IBM he continued to work part-time with the company but was able to focus on his passion for athletics and become a swimming instructor. He won dozens of medals in road races, triathlons, and swim meets, and he taught hundreds of children to swim. Lou and Helen moved to Leesburg, Va., in 2010 and have been devout members of St. John the Apostle Roman Catholic Church. Lou and Helen had seven children, one of whom died in childbirth. Lou is survived by his wife and their other six children, Mary Elizabeth, BJ, Thomas (Carol Harrison), Chris (John Borgman), Gerard (Carmina Ocampo-Brown), and Marjorie (Peter Kuzminski). He was predeceased by two grandchildren, Patrick Christopher Devlin and Lucian Arthur Brown, and survived by ten grandchildren, Brendan Devlin, Clare Devlin, Mary Devlin, Veronica Brown, Stephen Borgman, Lauren Borgman, Gabriel Brown, Andres Lucian Brown, Sophia Kuzminski, and Evelyn Kuzminski. Lou was a loving and generous husband, father, and grandfather, and a radiant presence to everyone he met. In the accent of his native region he emphasized that each day was "supah", or super, and his joyous gratitude for life will continue to inspire the family and friends who mourn his death.