Dr. Robert Stanley Brown

Robert Stanley Brown September 16, 1937- March 30, 2023 As a man, son, husband, father, grandfather, and surgeon, Robert Stanley Brown fully lent his hands, mind, heart and profound Catholic faith to sustain and guide the lives of thousands. Until his final, graceful rest and rebirth he rose early each day to build and rebuild all he could. Whether setting his hands to work on damaged or ailing bodies, gardens, vines, homes, and vehicles on land and water, or lending his incomparable kindness and wisdom to countless dispirited souls, these gentle mercies were Robert's life and work. His own faith, built upon years of erudite reflection, forged an unconditional belief in the love to be practiced in this world to counter suffering, a tenet which guided him through years of service, avid betterment, and care for his loved ones. Robert spent his formative years in the Chicago area where he studied life sciences and philosophy at Loyola University. He continued on to the University of Illinois Medical School, completed residency at Cook County Hospital, was drafted into the army as a surgeon and Captain at the 3rd Surgical Hospital in Vietnam and was awarded a Purple Heart. Medical missionary work brought him to Mangochi, Malawi on two occasions, where he spent over a year building a hospital and providing medical care. He sponsored many children and families in Africa, Central America, and the Caribbean. Robert also worked as a surgeon and medical instructor at Mount Sinai, New York while raising his young family. He provided them a loving and enriching home in Michigan during his medical practice from 1973 to 1998 at Midland Medical Center, marked by a two-year interim at Henry Ford Hospital as founder of their Division of Trauma and Emergency Surgery. The benefits of Robert's medical innovation and scholarship were reaped well beyond his retirement: his experimental use of the technique of proning early in his career served as reference to save many lives during the recent pandemic. Robert's sense of purpose defined just as readily his devotion to family and friends and a life fully-lived. Following sailing training on the Chesapeake, he shared adventures on his boat, the Jeanne d'Arc, across the Great Lakes in American and Canadian waters with his first wife, Diane (d. 2004), and his two children, Eric and Anastasia. Many dear friends joined him for these travels and a glass of cognac and a cigar at the dock or at his home. During retirement, the West Bay of Traverse City, Michigan became the home harbor to his cat-rigged sailboat, a base for sailing trips with his beloved wife, Debbie, and his grandchildren. Robert traveled the world, studied language in the south of France, bungee jumped in New Zealand, and skydived in Hawaii. He ventured to the island of Kauai for several years, where he and Debbie met and actively enjoyed its natural beauty, revitalized a shared home and gardens, and attended Saint Teresa's in Kekaha. Robert also volunteered to help complete and tend the Buddhist temple at the Lawai International Center, learned fine wood-turning, and continued his intellectual and spiritual correspondence with new and old friends. His final homesteads were near the dunes of the Emerald Coast in Florida and among the vines at Old Mission Creek Vineyard in Traverse City. On Old Mission Peninsula, Robert served the parish of Saint Joseph's in prayer and deeds, learned viticulture, tended grapes for harvest, and tamed woodlands. Robust and hard-working until his final months, Robert ably cleared an access road through the woods at the vineyard. Robert's mind was as strong as his body, his life's library vast and diverse. His inquisitive spirit never wavered and continued probing life's essential questions and oneness with God. In a last piece of writing, Robert explained why he remained a Catholic by weaving philosophies of being and essence, consciousness, quantum theories, Vedic and Buddhist principles, and the role of the Eucharist in Unity. He sought to orient his heart towards the true and the beautiful, viewed life as a call to action, a recognition of mysteries, and part of a concentric radiation of God's love. Robert is survived by his wife, Debbie Keys, his children, Eric (Hyun-Ju) Brown, Anastasia (Kirk) Brown-Westphal, Debbie's children, James Walker, Aaron Keys (Michelle) and Hilary Vanstone (Ryan). He is predeceased by wife, Diane, the mother of his children, his sister, Agnes Niemiec, niece, Charon Niemiec, and his parents, Stanley and Josephine. Robert adored his five grandchildren, Alex, Robert Flynn, Ryan, Alden, and Anna, nephews, Bruce (Vonna), Bobby (Becky), Mark (Fran), and Larry (Diane) Niemiec, and niece Susan (David) Couch. Visitation will be held Thursday, April 13th from 4-7 p.m. at Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home, 305 6th Street, Traverse City, Michigan, 49684. Additional visitation will be held on Friday, April 14th at 9 a.m. at Saint Joseph Catholic Church followed by a funeral Mass at 10 a.m. and the Catholic Rite of Committal. 12675 Center Road, Traverse City, Michigan, 49686. Friends and family will gather at Chateau Chantal following services. 15900 Rue Devin, Traverse City, Michigan. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent in honor of Robert Stanley Brown to the Society of Saint John at Holy Protection Monastery, 6559 State Hwy M26, Eagle Harbor, Michigan, 49950. Please feel free to share your thoughts and memories with Robert’s family at his tribute page at www.reynolds-jonkhoff.com. The Family is being cared for by the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home and Cremation Services.

Dr. Robert Stanley Brown

September 16, 1937 - March 30, 2023