Obituary of Gordon Derek Brown

It is with great sadness that the family of Gordon Derek Brown announce his passing at home on March 23rd, 2025

Born on March 14th, 1932 in Nuneaton, England to Lily (Saunders) and Robert Brown, Gordon credited his former coal-miner father in particular for encouraging his educational ambitions, graduating from the University of Birmingham in 1955 with a PhD in Biochemistry. He went on to employment with Unilever in the UK and then moved to Canada in 1966 to become a department head at the Research and Productivity Council in Fredericton, where he remained until retiring in 1994. Always keen to support and encourage those small businesses and individuals he worked with, he also freely offered his expertise to others in an informal setting, such as a casual conversation about mangoes with a Trinidadian home cook leading to advice she credited with greatly growing her business.

First introduced through his sister, Gordon got to know the woman who became the love of his life, Freda. They married March 18th, 1961 and their devoted partnership lasted 64 years. While National Service might not have been his cup of tea (or, very much in his case, coffee), it did give him a first taste of distant overseas travel as he spent a portion of that Service in Libya. Along with extensive North American travels, the list of countries he, wherever possible accompanied by Freda, visited over the years is long, including Trinidad, Mexico, Egypt, Sudan, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand as well as many European nations. It even included a stop in tiny Liechtenstein to buy postcards and stamps. 

His scientific interests weren't restricted to biochemistry as he was an avid amateur geologist, building up a collection of numerous minerals and fossils over the course of his travels. He passed on various specimens to family members, insisting they we were just on loan though he notably never asked for them back

A conversation with Gordon was never a dull affair as the listener was liable to be peppered with phrases in various languages, not least of which was Latin, lyric quotes from dramatic opera, to snatches of song from various sources ranging from Gilbert & Sullivan to Stanley Holloway and Tom Lehrer. A voracious reader, great favourites were the works of Terry Pratchett and the adventures of Calvin & Hobbes. He had an unorthodox system of selecting titles during regular visits to the library and probably made his way through a significant percentage through the years of all the available books on the shelves

He was a keen gardener, and a maker of delicious jams, jellies, yogurt and pizza sauce mix that proved a hit with family and friends over the years. He was a long-time member and former President of the St. George Society and until his health declined swam in the Silver Dolphins. One of his best loved pastimes though was gentle teasing and sparring with his favourite mother-in-law

Predeceased by his parents, sister Delvine (John) and brother Alfred (Winifred), Gordon is survived by his loving wife, sons Alan (Sandy), Michael (Emily), Geoffrey (Patricia) and Anthony (Kellie) as well as grandchildren Lisa, Shannon, Eve, Cassandra and Nicholas along with numerous nieces and nephews

The family extends special thanks to the incredible support given by Extra-Mural before Gordon's extended stay in hospital and upon his return home last month. Gratitude is also sent to the many Trius drivers who gave service above and beyond to Freda during her many trips to and from the DECH as well as special mention to Gordon's roommate during a portion of his hospital stay, Mike, who offered him such wonderful encouragement.

A memorial service will be held at the J.A. McAdam Memorial Chapel on Saturday, March 29th, 2025 at 2:00 pm. Rev. Greg Geldart will officiate. A livestream of the service will be available at the following link: https://vimeo.com/event/5023281

For those who would like to make a donation in Gordon's memory, the family suggest The New Brunswick Extra-Mural Program, Diabetes Canada, or the New Bruswick Public Libraries Foundation.