Lenwood E. Brown

Lenwood E. Brown NEWPORT — Lenwood ” Brownie” Earl Brown passed away on September 7, 2022 at the age of 92, at New London Hospital in New London, NH. Brownie was born on March 24,1930 in Ashland, NH, to Lyndon Brown and Gertrude Demars Brown, the youngest of five children. He married Vivian LaPorte in 1953 leading to nearly 70 years together. Brownie always loved to tell a good story and had a great one right from the start. At the age of two, the FBI knocked on his door and informed his parents they’d received a tip that Brownie might be the missing Lindbergh baby! The resemblance was remarkable, and Brownie’s parents had to go through quite a lot to prove that he belonged to them. The story made the headlines and was a favorite of his to share throughout the years. A longtime resident of the area, Brownie grew up in Charlestown and attended the local schools and especially enjoyed (and excelled at) playing basketball. He later joined his father to work at the family lumber mills in the area. In 1948, at seventeen, he joined the Navy and served four years as a fireman and pipe fitter while traveling all over the world. He liked to say that he “circled” the world the equivalent of three times. He made the most of his years in the Navy and used his time to experience all that he could; he roller skated in Casablanca, toured Japan by buggy, ate pasta at the home of locals in Naples, was invited on stage by Doris Day aboard Valley Forge (he declined), and even experienced his ship hitting an iceberg in Greenland (leaving a hole large enough a Mack Truck could drive through). Upon being honorably discharged from the Navy, he returned home where he met Vivian merely a couple of months later at a dance at the Claremont Town Opera House. He knew from that first night that he was going to marry her. After getting married, Brownie spent years working in many of the machine shops in the area while growing his family with Vivian to include five children; four sons and one daughter. He loved being a father and all that came with it, especially teaching his kids how to hunt and fish, and attending (or coaching) their sporting events throughout the years. In one particularly lean season, Brownie coached his Babe Ruth team to a first-place finish, despite having to pick up extra kids on the way to the games to make up a full team. In the 80s, Brownie started selling and trading vehicles from his front lawn on Route 11 (even once trading a Corvette for a T-bucket with Aerosmith drummer, Joey Kramer!). This quickly grew into a full-fledged RV business, appropriately named “Brownie’s RV,” which at its’ height had three locations between NH and ME. In retirement, Brownie and Vivian spent nearly twenty winters in Florida providing a long season for one of Brownie’s most-beloved activities: golf. Having only started golfing at age 40, he was proud to have made three “holes in one” from three different clubs in his lifetime, won “Most Progressed Golfer of the Year” which was featured in Golf Digest and played in dozens of tournaments. He was also an avid bowler, loving both ten-pin and candlepin, always one of the best in the area with a candlepin average of 114, even at over the age of 50! Brownie was competitive and outrivaled his peers in any game he tackled – golf, bowling, cribbage, horseshoes and softball, just to name a few. He was predeceased by his parents, his brothers; Winfred and Ren, sisters; Pearl and Bertha, and grandson Justin. He is remembered by his wife; Vivian LaPorte Brown, his children; Lenwood Brown II and his partner, Monica (Bradford, NH), Winfred Brown and his partner, Nancy (Newport, NH), Michael Brown and his wife, Johanna (Wiscasset, ME), Vivian Jache and her husband, Steve (Weare, NH) and Scott Brown and his partner, Rene (Toltec, AZ), his grandchildren; Jeremy Brown, Joshua Brown, Lenwood Brown III, Kim-ly Mobley, Tamara Croteau, Adria Brown King, Natasha Brown, Michael Brown, Kayla Brown, Elizabeth Daigle, and Courtney Thatcher-Bushey, twenty great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild, and several nieces and nephews. There will be a celebration of life on Sunday, September 18th at the Forester’s Club in Newport from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your local Veteran Charitable Organization.