Roy F. Brown

08/29/2001

Roy F. Brown, 88, of Palo Alto, Calif., a former Pittsfield city councilman, died Wednesday in Palo Alto. Born in Arlington on March 11, 1913, son of Solomon and Isabele Benson Brown, he graduated from Arlington High School in 1930. Mr. Brown served with the Seabees during World War II. As a young man, he delivered milk, cut ice, and caddied. In 1933, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and worked with the 127th Company in the Pittsfield State Forest. He assisted in the building of the stone bridge that stands over the outlet to Berry Pond. In 1935, he became a bobbin carrier for the Berkshire Woolen Mill. He became employed by GE in 1939, where he worked for 40 years in the transformer division, starting in winding and assembly and retiring as a planner. Elected to the Pittsfield City Council in 1947, he served a total of 22 years. He also served on the school building commissions that built five schools in the 1950s, including the former North and South junior high schools, and several other city commissions. He was a 59-year member of the Pittsfield Mystic Lodge, AF&AM, and a member of the Collina Chapter 69 Order of Eastern Star. He was also a member of the Palo Alto Roller Lodge and the Palo Alto chapter of Order of Eastern Star, where he served as associate patron in 1989 and worthy patron in 1990. Mr. Brown was a member of First Church of Christ Congregational in Pittsfield. He moved to Palo Alto in 1984 and enjoyed watching his grandson play Little League baseball. He also enjoyed golfing, fishing, gardening and picking wild berries. He leaves his wife of 66 years, the former Suzanne Wendell, whom he married in 1935 in Pilgrim Memorial Church in Pittsfield; a daughter, Jeanne Ichnowski of Palo Alto; a brother, Graham Brown of Billerica; a sister, Marjorie Canciglia of Colorado Springs, Colo., and two grandchildren.

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