Dave Brown

9/24/1937 -- 6/5/2015

I just got word that Dave Brown died yesterday. Dave has waged a heroic battle against Multiple Myeloma since 1978. This is a terrible disease for which the typical life expectancy is 3 - 5 years. Through all his coping with the symptoms and treatments, Dave never lost his spirit or complained. He lived a full life.

I sponsored Dave for Fellowship Forum membership, and he never stopped telling me how grateful he was for that association. He truly enjoyed knowing all the members and attending the lunches. He only went inactive when his health became an issue.

Dave and Prudy sold the home they had lived in for many years in Cupertino and moved to Saratoga Retirement Community. When SRC recently denied entry to their health center, Dave and Prudy moved to a retirement community in Austin, where they were 15 minutes away from their eldest daughter's home.

Janet and I met Prudy and Dave in the early 1960’s, when Dave and I were EE grad students at Stanford. We had many happy times together ever since, and will miss them.

Skip Ross

Thank you for this notice Skip. Dave was a gentle soul. And you are right the membership meant a lot to him. He never wanted to go inactive.

He kept insisting that he would be back although it was a long drive from Saratoga. He and Prudy did come to a ladies day in June 2014. That was the last meeting Dave attended. The speaker was in charge of the Bracebridge Dinner at the Ahwanee and she brought a dozen troopers with her.

The best to you, Terry

DAVID A. BROWN OBITUARY

David Arthur Brown passed away in Austin, TX on June 5, 2015, at the age of 77, after a 37 year battle with Multiple Myeloma. Even though the battle was long and difficult, he did not allow his disease to define him. Through all his coping with the symptoms and treatments, he never lost his spirit or complained. Dave frequently interacted with caregivers and patients in the myeloma community both to help others and educate himself. Throughout the years, friends and family put him in touch with newly diagnosed myeloma patients, and he tried to be helpful and encourage them. He also tried to help fellow patients at support group meetings and at International Myeloma Foundation seminars.

Dave was born on Mare Island Naval Base in California on September 24, 1937 to Stanley Winford Brown, a career Navy dentist, and his wife, Dorus Moser Brown. He graduated from Millington Central High School in Millington, TN. He received both his BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and went on to receive a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. While completing his PhD, he spent 9 months working at the newly created U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington, DC.

He began his career in California with Lockheed Missiles and Space Company in 1962 as a Senior Scientist. He then became part of a small band of pioneers at Lockheed in the late '60s that set out to build the world's first hospital information system designed for direct use by doctors and nurses. Later, after the group was acquired and renamed Technicon Medical Information Systems, Dave and his colleagues would see their system installed in hundreds of hospitals in North America and Europe. He retired in 1998. Following his retirement, Dave became a member of Fellowship Forum and SIR (Sons In Retirement) Branch 35.

He and his wife made their home and raised their family in Cupertino, CA. He was an avid tennis player and enjoyed playing bridge with friends. He liked tinkering with electronics and repairing things around the house. He also enjoyed singing in the De Anza Chorale, hiking at Lake Tahoe and traveling. Dave and his wife travelled to many places around the world, but his favorite destination was Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii, which they visited many times. He loved listening to music, and he and his wife were San Jose Opera season ticket holders for many years. Everywhere he went, Dave was immediately liked and admired for his intelligent sense of humor, patience and good nature. Dave and his wife moved to Austin, TX in April 2015 to be closer to their elder daughter and her family.

Dave is survived by his wife of 54 years, Prudence Hughes Brown of Austin, TX; his brother, Stanley Mason Brown (Dell), of Fairhope, AL; his daughters Leslie Suffoletta (Robert) of Austin, TX; and Emily Brown Merriman (John) of Ewa Beach, HI; and four grandchildren, James and Thomas Suffoletta of Austin, TX and Jessica and Andrew Merriman of Ewa Beach, HI.

Our family would like to extend our deepest thanks and gratitude to the physicians and staff of the Hematology and Medical Oncology Departments at Palo Alto Medical Foundation.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, July 7, 2015 at Saratoga Presbyterian Church, 20455 Herriman Ave, Saratoga, CA 95070. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the International Myeloma Foundation at www.myeloma.org or 12650 Riverside Drive, Suite 206, North Hollywood, CA 91607-3421. Condolences may be made at www.cookwaldenforestoaks.com.