Obituary of Hamilton Brown

Hamilton Brown, age 78, was born February 12, 1942 in Bridgeport, CT, and died in Arlington, VA on April 17, 2020 due to pneumonia and Covid-19.

Growing up, he lived in Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia’s Colonial Williamsburg, and Michigan. He graduated in 1964 from Hamilton College in NY where he received a B.A. in English Literature.  

While pursuing a Masters of Divinity at Hartford Seminary in CT, he served as youth minister at a local church, which started more than a decade of work in the United Church of Christ (UCC), specifically in inner cities. 

One of his proudest actions was responding to the call of Martin Luther King for churches to show solidarity with the civil rights movement - he drove south and marched in Selma, Alabama with other religious and civil rights groups.  He continued life-long membership and dedication to the UCC denomination. For years, he and others served meals to homeless women at his church in Washington, DC, and he was actively involved in working with other UCC members at his long-time church in Arlington to allocate grants for local non-profit organizations supporting  low-income and homeless people.

Hamilton obtained a Masters Degree in Public Administration at George Washington University and worked in the non-profit sector until his retirement.  At both the National Association of Towns and Townships and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Hamilton became a ‘go to’ expert for small town elected officials and managers of rural cooperatives.  He traveled across rural America, leading training workshops and authoring numerous guidebooks on community development, environmental protection, and how to make local programs and services accessible to individuals with disabilities.  Hamilton was a talented writer and trainer with a passion for improving the lives of rural citizens, especially low-income people. 

In 2010, Hamilton was involved in an automobile accident that would severely alter his life and the routines that had governed it for decades.  He suffered a traumatic brain injury that ultimately led to the use of a wheelchair.  Consistent with the athletic and mental dedication he had shown throughout his life (being a long-distance runner, biker & swimmer), Hamilton worked diligently to recover as much strength and mobility as he could.  He acquired a recumbent bike, swam at a local pool, and worked with a personal trainer. He was much-loved by the other residents and entire staff of the assisted living facility where he lived, and served as the chaplain for the community.  

Hamilton was a lover of literature (from Wordsworth to Dostoyevsky), of art & architecture (from African art to art nouveau); music in all its guises & eras (from classical to punk rock); of all distances of running (from sprints to marathons); & of classic cars (finally purchasing a 1961 Lincoln Continental in his retirement).  He enjoyed cooking (noted for his homemade chicken pot pies, grilled ribs, & custom pancakes of every imaginable shape); was a gardener (& expert on mushrooms), painter, carpenter, ceramic tiler, HVAC installer, general contractor and handyman – a modern day Renaissance man. 

He was known for his handmade greeting cards & animal cartoons, playing his violin at various gatherings, and had a special knack for finding 4-leaf clovers in a field of green.  We are certain he’s in heaven playing tennis with his father, discussing Irish poets with his mum, & reminiscing about the performers they’d seen at the Copacabana music club in New York City back in the day.

For all those who knew Hamilton Brown, each recollection is one of deep affection for his positive spirit, intelligence, altruism, humor, creativity - and kindness.

He is survived by his son, Christian and daughter, Aileen; former wife & friend, Susan Hennessy, twin brother Holmes; & many in-laws, cousins, nieces and nephews.  A remote memorial service is planned for the future.