Theodore Strater “Ted” Brown passed away peacefully at his home in New London, NH on Friday August 5th, 2022. He was 91 years old. Ted was born in Newton, Massachusetts, on November 12, 1930, the only child of the late Donald Charles Brown and Irene (Strater) Brown. He grew up with a love of the sea, fostered by summers spent on his grandparents’ farm in West Tisbury, Martha’s Vineyard, and crewing with the sword fishing fleet out of Menemsha. After graduating from the Huntington School for Boys in 1948, he entered Harvard College. At Harvard Ted majored in English, played on the Kirkland House football team, and joined the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC). In his senior year he met the love of his life, Barbara Claire Lang (Wellesley College ’55) but their romance was interrupted by Ted’s military obligations.
After graduation in 1952, Ted was commissioned Ensign, United States Naval Reserve, and received orders to report aboard USS Brush (DD-745) homeported in Long Beach, CA. His Korean War combat experiences are recorded in his shipmate Otis T. Holly’s book, Three Years Aboard a Navy Destroyer, including some of Ted’s personal exploits. While on shore leave in 1953, he and Barbara were engaged, and following his release from active duty in 1954, they were married. They settled in South Natick, Mass., and soon started a family of what grew to five children. Ted began a long career as a stockbroker with a Boston firm and continued to drill with the Naval Reserve. In 1969 they felt the need for more room and purchased a second home with 300 acres on a dirt road in Canterbury, NH. Over the next 5 years they divided time between the two houses but were ultimately drawn to move permanently to the Granite State. They settled in New London, NH in 1974 and never looked back.
In New London, Ted had a long tenure with A.G. Edwards, retiring as a vice president, and was an active member of Rotary Club, the Country Squires, and the New London Boys Club among many civic and religious organizations. He was an avid outdoorsman, enjoying fishing, canoeing, skeet shooting at local ranges, hiking in the White Mountains, and visiting children and grandchildren around the country and around the world. Weather permitting, he loved walking to his office, and so was a frequent sight on Main Street.
Ted was known to his many friends for his good humor and generosity. He loved stories and songs of the sea, often accompanied by the banjo. He was proud of his deep New England roots including Mayflower and American Revolution ancestors, and was a keen reader of world and American history. He maintained an interest in trading on financial markets long after his official retirement. He was a faithful Christian and took his faith seriously.
He is survived by Barbara, his wife of 68 years, and their five children: Matthew Brown (Sheri) of La Mesa CA; John Brown (Jolene) of Salt Lake City, UT; Melissa Panchy (Peter) of Nantucket, MA; Peter Brown (Amy) of Braintree, MA; and Timothy Brown (Nancy) of Davis CA; fourteen grandchildren; and thirteen great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, September 2nd, 11 a.m. at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, New London, with a reception following. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Kearsarge Regional Ecumenical Ministries (KREM) PO Box 1465, New London NH 03257
SERVICES
Memorial Service
Friday, September 2, 2022 11:00 AM St. Andrews Episcopal Church Gould Road New London, NH 03257