Author: Duane Fickeisen

Lucille Richter Bursch, 90, life companion of the Rev. Dayton Yoder died November 22, 2006, in Spokane, WA, just three months after her partner died at age 100 in hospice care. The couple enjoyed traveling in their retirement years. She is survived by her daughter, Joanne Cenis.

Rosemary Morris Burns, 86, wife of the Rev. Carl V. Bretz, died July 6, 2009 due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease. A native of Oklahoma she earned degrees at University of Oklahoma, Wellesley College and Augusta College (GA). She also served in the Women’s Army Corps. She was married to David Markland (Mark) Morris and the couple had three sons. Mark died in 1975, soon after the death of their eldest son, David. She then married John H. Burns. That marriage ended in divorce. Rosemary was a psychotherapist until her retirement in the mid 1990’s. A devoted UU for 65 years, she served in many capacities in local churches, wherever she lived, and was a leader in the Thomas Jefferson District of the UUA. She represented TJD as a UUA Trustee briefly in the mid-1970’s. In her leisure time she enjoyed swimming and playing tennis and golf. In 1994, Rosemary married Carl Bretz, whom she had met the year before at SUUSI and with whom she lived happily for the rest of her life. Rosemary is survived by Carl and her sons, Bruce and Charlie Morris, by two grandsons, a daughter-in-law and two stepchildren, a brother-in-law, and two nieces and a nephew.

The Reverend Terry Mark Burke — beloved parish minister, devoted husband and father, world traveler, and community servant — died on August 15, 2015, aged 61.

Much of Terry’s travels focused on personal spirituality, justice activism, and religious study: he visited Central America in the 1980s, studied Orthodox churches and their icons in St. Petersburg, Istanbul, the Sinai, and Venice, walked the Camino in 2012 with his daughter Amelia, and went twice to Jerusalem to meet with religious peace workers.

Over 31 years in his one and only parish settlement (1983-2014) at the First Church in Jamaica Plain (UU), the Rev. Mr. Burke “revitalized” the church from a mostly elderly membership of twelve people to its recent and significantly younger constituency of 100+ adults and a children’s enrollment of 22.

Terry Mark Burke was born in Flint, Michigan, on November 12, 1953, to Jack and Virginia Burke.  He discovered the UU congregation in Flint, drawn in his teens by a shared opposition to the Vietnam War.  After earning a B.A. and M.Div. at Harvard, Mr. Burke was ordained by Manhattan’s Fourth Universalist Church, where, in an internship, he “fell in love with parish ministry.”

Terry’s friend and former roommate, acclaimed journalist Chris Hedges, eulogized Terry’s shared ministry with his wife Ellen:

“Terry and Ellen — she played the organ and handled the music — have given 31 years of their lives to this church. . . .  The remarkable intertwining of [their lives] to create a thing of beauty, a thing we cannot see or touch but can only feel and sense, is what ministry is about.  If there is a more meaningful way to spend a life I do not know it.”

Terry is survived by his wife Ellen McGuire, his brother Tim, and three daughters, Willow, Amelia, and Lucyanna.

Donations in Terry’s memory may be made to Samaritans (Samaritans) or to Jobs with Justice (Jobs With Justice).

A memorial service was held at his Jamaica Plain church. Notes of condolence may be sent to Ellen McGuire, 16 Rosecliff St, Roslindale, MA 02131-3525.

The Rev. Brigitte Elisabeth Brunhart, 51, died September 28, 2006. She was born in Germany. She served at the Olmsted UU Fellowship in Olmsted, Ohio, and the Westshore UU Church of Cleveland. She introduced members of the First Unitarian Church of Cleveland to Sufism, and aspects of Goddess worship. She was chaplain at hospice for the Western Reserve, Metro Health Medical Center in Cleveland, Cleveland Clinic Foundation and St. Vincent Charity Hospital. Her partner wrote: “Although she struggled all her adult life against debilitating illness, she pursued a career in ministry with great determination…” She will be mourned by her husband John McBratney and their children Indra and Kumar Brunhart-McBratney.

The Rev. Robert William Brownlie, 88, died March 27, 2010. He was a purple heart veteran of WW II. After a successful early career in business, Rob served congregations in ME, MA and MN before moving to Alberta during the Vietnam years. He served the Unitarian Church of Edmonton for 15 years. He was named their minister emeritus. Upon retirement to Kelowna, Rob became well-known as a passionate supporter of civic and cultural organizations. He collected art, and regularly attended theater, concerts and cultural events. He walked 15 km a day and was a well-known figure in his neighborhood. He was an environmentalist with a big heart. Rob is survived by his daughter Pat; sons Peter, Andrew, Richard and their spouses and two grandsons. He was pre-deceased by his youngest son Chris in 1989 and his wife Dorothy in 1971.

The Rev. Jean Lyman Cook Brown, 73, died August 17, 2010. She earned a BA in economics from CT College and an EdM from the University of Hartford. She taught third grade in Avon, CT, and helped establish the Roaring Brook School. While serving as DRE at the UU Church of West Hartford, she enrolled in an independent study program and graduated, despite many personal challenges. Jean was ordained by the West Hartford church and called to be their first MRE. She was active in the Connecticut Valley District‘s RE Committee and the New England District RE Committee. She served as president of the UUA‘s Sunday School Society. She regularly participated in GAs and confer-ences at Star Island and Ferry Beach. She enjoyed aerobics classes, yearly lobster, painting, reading and hearing the voice of a friend. Jean became Minister of Pastoral Services until she retired and was named minis-ter emerita. She is survived by her husband, James Cashel Brown, two sisters, a sister-in-law and children Christopher, Roger and Bettina Ann Brown.

James Cashel Brown, 90, widower of the Rev. Jean Cook Brown, died June 12, 2011. A native of Staten Island, he was an active youth, running a printing business, playing football and becoming an Eagle Scout. He studied advertising at New York University, then served in the US Army, working in broadcasting. He moved to Hartford, CT to work for Frank Sweet’s advertising agency. He worked on national political campaigns, and later became an independent business consultant. James joined The Universalist Church of West Hartford in 1950, beginning a 60-year affiliation. He served as a deacon, a Sunday school teacher and on the Board of Education, as well as numerous committees. In 1965, James met and married the love of his life, Jean Cook. He supported her increasing involvement with the church, which culminated in her becoming their MRE. He loved spending time with his family. He also loved traveling. He stayed active in the community through the condo association and neighborhood redevelopment meetings. He was predeceased by his wife and survived by his children, Christopher, Roger and Bettina Brown. His grandchild, Nicolas, was born six days after his passing.

The Rev. Dr. Dwight Brown, 84, died on October 14, 2012. Rev. Brown was born in Zanesville, OH on November 4, 1927 to Mae and the Rev. O. Dwight Brown. He attained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Oberlin College in 1950. In 1958, he went on to earn a Bachelor of Divinity from Starr King School for the Ministry. He received an honorary Doctor of Sacred Theology from Starr King School for the Ministry in 1971.

Rev. Brown was called to the First Unitarian Church of Trenton, NJ in 1948 (where he was also ordained on October 5, 1958) and served as the minister there until 1961. He was then called to the Unitarian Church of Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 1961-1964. Switching gears, he then became the District Executive of the UUA New York Metropolitan District from 1964-1968. He returned to parish ministry with a long run as minister of the First Unitarian Church in Dallas, TX from 1968-1976. He found himself back in the UUA world with the position of Director of the UUA Office of Ministerial Finances (which is now the UUA Office of Church Staff Finances) from 1976-1978.  In 1978, he returned once again to parish ministry as minister of the First Unitarian Church of Cleveland, OH until 1988. He then became a District Executive of the Southwestern Unitarian Universalist District from 1988-1992. He officially retired from ministry in 1992.

While Rev. Brown was District Executive of the Southwestern Unitarian Universalist District, the district established its first Leadership Experience, a training program for lay leaders. Named after Rev. Brown, the District’s Dwight Brown Leadership Experience is “designed to teach and reinforce skills and abilities for leaders and leaders-to-be in UU congregations.”

Rev. Brown lived a full and accomplished ministerial life. He proudly walked alongside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King during the march from Selma to Montgomery, AL in 1965. He also boldly and respectfully provided abortion counseling both before the passing of Roe v. Wade and after.

In a sermon delivered at the 1982 UUA General Assembly, entitled “Impersonating the Divine: An Essay in Theological Anthropology,” Rev. Brown notes,

“Human history is MY history. What I am today is linked in a living chain of being with all lives past. I am Socrates, probing the mysteries of the mind. I am Moses, proclaiming the majesty of the moral law. I am Jesus, witnessing to the love which animates the process in which I live and move and have my being. I am Galileo, meditating on the pathways of the stars. I am Johan Sebastian Bach, composing temples of beauty out of the raw stuff of the imagination. I am Susan B. Anthony, proclaiming a new era in human development.

“But what is even more significant is that what I am now, as I participate in the complex patterns of humanness which exist in this moment of time, as I connect with the humanness of others in those myriad currents of meaning and sharing which make up the human network, what I am now is and remains a part of the totality of humanness, which is ongoing, continuing, immortal, so in the most simple and literal way, the humanness which is in me will live on, long after that instant of awareness which I call in me has finally faded.”

Known as a “great intellect who was curious about everything and never stopped learning,” Rev. Brown enjoyed writing, books, computers, sailing, good food, good company, and good conversation. He was especially fond of time spent with his family and friends.

Rev. Brown is survived by his loving wife, Marie E. Brown; daughter, Janet E. Darez; daughter, Deborah L. Brister; daughter, Stephanie L. Murray; son, David A. Brown; sister, Elaine Clum; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. He is predeceased by his father, the Rev. O. Dwight Brown; mother, Mae Brown; and mother-in-law, Grace V. Wilson.

A memorial service was held on Saturday, November 3, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Hill Country, 960 Barnett St., Kerrville, TX 78028. Notes of condolence may be sent to Marie E. Brown at 916 Barnett St., Kerrville, TX 78028.

Priscilla Alden Jones Brooks, 84, wife of the Rev. George Gordon Brooks died January 21, 2014, in Port Charlotte, FL. Priscilla was native of Amherst, MA. Early on she was secretary to the Amherst Town Manager, then secretary to the Admissions Officer at Deerfield Academy, and to the Communications Officer at the Massachusetts Council of Churches in Boston. Later she became a teacher’s assistant in the Elyria, OH school system. The work she loved most was as owner of the Wool and Needle Studio in Burlington, IA. She taught knitting at all levels for the night school at Burlington High.

George says Priscilla’s most significant contribution to his ministry was to be his eyes and ears on the congregation. He says “She was the perfect minister’s wife! And she loved it!” She enjoyed retreats at Attleboro, MA and UU in the Pines at Brooksville, FL as well as weeks on Star Island.

She was predeceased by two brothers, Carleton Parker Jones II and the Reverend Robert Edward Jones. She leaves two nephews, Carleton Parker Jones III and Edmund Adams Jones and a niece, Catherine Leete Jones Randall, two grandnieces and a grandnephew, two great-grandnephews, three great-grandnieces, and one on the way. At the time of her death, she was a member of the UU Fellowship of Charlotte County, the Rounders at Maple Leaf Golf and Country Club and the Peace River Harvard Club.

A memorial service took place at the UU Fellowship of Charlotte County. Condolences may go to George Brooks at 2100 Kings Hwy. # 347, Port Charlotte, FL 33980.

The Rev. Dr. Harry Brobst, 100, died January 13, 2010. He was the last of the founding members of the UU Church of Stillwater, OK, which was organized in 1947. He was a registered psychiatric nurse, and received his BA from Brown University, his MA and PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. Following his retirement, after 28 years of service as a faculty member in the Psychology Department at OSU, Harry obtained his MDiv at Phillips Seminary, 1977. He was ordained in 1977 by the UU Church of Stillwater and served the congregation for three years. He was an animal lover and enjoyed working with young people. He was married to Judith Sylvia Heideman, who died 15 years ago. He is survived by his cousins Penni Lee, Amy and William Fallow.