Dick's obituary was published online:
Richard D. Brown
It is with profound sadness we announce the passing of Richard D. Brown on 10/10/09 after a sudden illness. Richard was born on 9/10/40 in Duluth, Minnesota, fourth of five boys to Roy and Martha Brown. He had a challenging childhood, due to illnesses of his parents and their early deaths. The brothers lived apart periodically in different foster homes. In April of 1958, four months shy of his 18th birthday, Richard joined the Marine Corp where he excelled. He became an expert marksman in the 2nd Force Recon in 1961 and spent another three years in the reserves. While in the service he learned electronics as a craft and soon showed the brilliance which marked his electronic career. After military service, Richard worked for Control Data in Minneapolis until he moved to Sunnyvale, Ca in 1966, working for Raytheon Co. He met the love of his life while skiing at Lake Tahoe and married her in 1969. They moved to San Jose and lived there until his death. During the recession of 1976, Richard left Raytheon and started his own business manufacturing audio power amplifiers of his own design. He named his business Brown Electronic Laboratories. From his original model BEL 2002 Power Amps to the current model 1001 Mark V, Richard produced some of the finest music reproduction equipment ever built for the music lovers. He was highly respected by the audiophile community. Richard was a genius and a member of Mensa. He was an accomplished painter, photographer, designer, intellectual and a perfectionist. Besides enjoying music of all kinds, his passion consisted also of watching Formula 1 car racing, bird and nature photography, hiking and bicycling. He is preceded in death by his parents, his younger brother, Warren and is survived by his beloved wife, Sue and three older brothers, Roy, Pat and Tom. He will be missed greatly by all. Donation can be made in his name to the CJD Foundation. P.O. Box 5312 Akron, Ohio 44334. They can be reached at www. cjd foundation. org.
