Category: Obituary: B

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.

The Rev. Dr. John W. Brigham, 89, died January 23, 2004, of complications from congestive heart failure. A native of Concord, MA, he was a graduate of Tufts University, Crane School of Theology and Meadville Lombard. Ordained at First Parish in Concord, MA, he served congregations in Castine, ME; Billerica, MA; Sioux City and Burlington, IA; Rochester, NY; and Quincy, IL. He was field representative for the Stevens Fellowship Committee for the American Unitarian Association and was associate director of the UUA’s Department of Ministry. Upon his retirement, the Unitarian Church of Quincy, and the UU Fellowship at Burlington named him minister emeritus. His concerns centered on social justice. He was president of the Sioux City chapter of the NAACP, and in Quincy he actively supported the Walter Hammond Day Care Center. He also served on the steering committee for the POLIS study program of Quincy University, a program offering educational opportunities to retirees. He was survived by his wife, Anna Louise Dege Brigham, by three sons, Larry, Jeremy, and Daniel, their spouses, six grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren.

The Rev. Charles Otis Barber, 87, died March 5, 2006 in Deland, FL. He was ordained by the Universalist Church of Foxboro, MA and served the First Universalist Church in Dolgeville, NY; First Universalist Society of Salem, Walpole NH Unitarian Church, the First Universalist Church of West Chesterfield and the Unitarian Universalist Church of West Volusia, Deland, FL. He was named minister emeritus at both the Walpole and West Volusia churches. He was survived by his wife Madelyn C. Barber and two children, Susan E. Murphy of Florida and John R. Barber of North Attleboro, MA. Memorial services were held March 26 in Deland, and April 28th at the Walpole, NH Unitarian Church.

Anna Louise Brigham, 91, widow of the Rev. John W. Brigham, died May 14, 2007 in Quincy, MA. She received her BS. in German and in counseling from University of Rochester, where she was secretary in the German Department. During the ministries of her husband, they lived in Castine, ME; Billerica, Arlington, and Quincy, MA; Sioux City and Burlington, IA; and Rochester, NY. An avid stamp collector, Anna Louise prepared “Unitarians and Universalists on Stamps,” accessible on the Quincy Unitarian Church Website. She was a member of the Quincy Church, the Women’s Alliance and the Quinsippi Stamp Club. Survivors include three sons, Lawrence Brigham of Morrow, OH; the Rev. Jeremy Brigham of Cedar Rapids, IA; and Daniel Brigham of Canandaigua, NY; six grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. A memorial service was held in Quincy Aug. 18.

Edith Elise Briggs, 89, wife of the Rev. George Briggs, died April 12, 2015, in hospice care in Winston-Salem, NC. She was born June 7, 1925 in Portland, Oregon to Alfred Holman and Edith Wilcox Holman. Elise graduated from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. Her professional career included working with migrant workers in Oregon, working for the USF&G Insurance Company in Portland, and as a librarian in Beaumont, Texas, after she was married.

She married the Rev. George Briggs in 1957 and became a devoted minister’s wife in Methodist churches and then in Unitarian Universalist congregations for the remainder of her life. As her daughter, Irma, was growing up Elise served as a Brownie leader and a Girl Scout Leader. She also led a junior nature club during their time in Pittsfield, Maine.

Elise became interested in genealogy in her 60s and over a 20-year period researched several lines of her family tree and those of her husband’s. She enjoyed knitting, crocheting and sewing until she lost much of her vision in later life. Never one to sit by, she started to study Braille when she was 86.

She was predeceased by her parents; her stepfather, Frank Winner, who married her mother when Elise was 10 years old; her sister Marian Strandberg; and her stepsister Carolyn Winner. She is survived by her husband, the Rev. George Briggs; her daughter, Irma Briggs Polster; her son-in-law, Mark Polster; three grandsons; and her extended family.

The family wishes to thank the volunteers and employees at the Danby House, Kate B. Reynolds Hospice, and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem for their kind and loving care. Memorial gifts may be sent to Crisis Control Ministry, 200 East Tenth Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101; Kate B. Reynolds Hospice, 101 Hospice Lane, Winston-Salem, NC 27103, or the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Winston-Salem, 4055 Robinhood Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27106.

A memorial service was planned for Sunday, June 7 (which would have been her 90th birthday) at the UU Fellowship of Winston-Salem. Notes of remembrance may be sent to George Briggs, 2945 Reynolda Rd., Apt. 226, Winston-Salem, NC 27106.

The Rev. Gene Bridges, 78, died Jan. 3, 2008, at his home in Honolulu, HI. A 1959 graduate of Starr King, he was ordained by the UU Association of Tacoma, WA, in 1960, serving there three years. He served the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu, HI from 1962-1970. He then returned to the practice of law, creating The Divorce Clinic to provide low cost legal assistance to persons of limited income. He also owned and operated Bed & Breakfast Honolulu (Statewide), the largest Bed and Breakfast association in Hawaii. According to Mike Young, Gene was a stalwart supporter of civil rights, racial justice, and peace. The Hawaii ACLU’s first phone was on his desk and he had marched in Selma. Surviving Mr. Bridges are his daughter, Beth Eileen Bridges; two sons, Adam and Channing Bridges; and four grandchildren. His wife, Mary Lee Tsuffis, predeceased him in 2003. A memorial service was held Jan.13 at the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu.

The Rev. James C. Brewer, 82, died April 28, 2009. A native of Illinois, he served in the US Navy Air Corp, then earned degrees at University of Toledo and Harvard Divinity School. Ordained in Melrose (MA), he was an intern minister with Dr. Howard Thurman at the Church of the Fellowship of All People. He served churches in MA and VA.. At the 1959 GA, Jim received the Holmes-Weatherly Award for his social justice work. He was an outspoken advocate for fair housing and integration. He ‘walked his talk’ to end racial injustice and the hardships of poverty at home and overseas. After working abroad, Jim returned to parish ministry in serving interims in Chicago, IL; Toronto, ON; Portsmouth, NH; and Westport, CT. He served the Asheville (NC) church until his retirement in 1990, when he was named their minister emeritus. He leaves his wife, and children Montie and Amy Brewer and two grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Barbara; his children Jimmy and Betsy. His second wife, Betty, died December 4, 2009.

Betty Tschappat Brewer, 74, widow of the Rev. James Brewer, died at home in Tucson, AZ, December 4, 2009. She earned a BA in Business Administration from Lake Forest College, and an RN from Elgin Community College, Elgin, IL. A devoted career nurse in Elgin and Big Rapids, MI, she moved to Tucson, AZ after retirement. Betty enjoyed reading and music. She was an avid traveler and nature lover and a volunteer at Tohono Chul Park. Preceded in death by her first husband, Henry Tschappat, in 2001 and her second husband, Jim Brewer in 2009, she is survived by her daughters, Melanie Coleman and Kathryn Tschappat and her brother, Raymond Vellinga.