John A. Brown Obituary
John Albert Brown, age 86, of Gloucester, formerly of Cambridge, Sudbury, and Naples, Florida died peacefully, on May 11, 2022, at the age of 86 after battling Alzheimer's. The son of the late Gertrude and John E. Brown, he was born in Concord and grew up in Arlington and Brookline.
John was the beloved husband of Judy (Mazza) of Belmont for 55 years. Devoted father of John J. and his wife Kathleen Murphy of Topsfield, Michael and his wife Beth Ann Schmitt of Newburyport, and Susan Ogar and her husband Michael of Northborough; loving gramps of Kevin, Connor, Ryan, and Lindsay; dear brother of Linda Collins (Brown) of Burlington and the late Jean Donavan (Brown). John is survived by four nieces, Judy, Cindy, Deborah and Laura and four nephews, Jackie, Tom, Sean and Chris.
A graduate of Arlington High School, he played football there, after which he put himself through college, earning his Bachelor's Degree in Landscape Architecture and City Planning from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in 1957. After a brief time in active service with the United States Army, John earned his Masters Degree in Public Administration and City Planning from NYU. John worked for The Olmsted Brothers of Brookline, the nation's first landscape architecture firm, started by Frederick Law Olmsted. He was proud of the urban planning work that he, former Mayor, Andrew Young and the late Sen. John Lewis did during the civil rights movement when he headed the Atlanta Office for Candeub & Fleissig Associates. John had a lengthy career in city planning and owned his own business in Boston and Cambridge for over 30 years, John Brown Associates (JBA) with projects in nearly half the cities and towns in Massachusetts. John also worked as a commercial real estate professional and earned his Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation.
He loved sitting with his beloved wife, Judy, while enjoying the view of the Annisquam River from their home in Gloucester. He enjoyed reading nonfiction and fiction alike, listening to all genres of music and loved spending time with family, including years of BBQs at the Wingaersheek Beach House. He also loved playing golf with his buddies who referred to him lovingly as "The Commish", traveling (especially in Italy), as well as eating and drinking. Outside of guacamole, there were few things that John didn't enjoy eating — often raving about his meals.
John's family would like to say a special thank you to friends and family who have supported us during this difficult Alzheimer's journey. We will forever be grateful for walking this path with us. We extend special gratitude to the staff of John's memory care home, Avita of Newburyport.
A Funeral mass will be celebrated in Our Lady of Good Voyage Church, 142 Prospect St. Gloucester, on Thursday, May 19th, 2022, at 9:00 am with a burial service to follow at Seaside Cemetery, 90 Langsford St, in the Lanesville section of Gloucester.
In lieu of flowers, donations in John's memory may be made to: St. Ann's Parish, 60 Prospect St. Gloucester, MA 01930, or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. P.O. Box 50, Memphis, TN 38101.
