Norman Jack Brown Jr.
Lab retiree Norman Jack Brown Jr., a resident of Livermore, died of a stroke Sept. 3, at the Veterans Hospital in Livermore. He was 79.
Born June 22, 1931, in Red Bluff, Calif., to Agnes Dene Hillhouse and Norman Jack Brown Sr., he attended school in Red Bluff, St. Patrick’s Seminary, Mountain View and UC Berkeley.
He graduated in 1959 with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He spent his career as an engineer with LLNL in the Mechanical Engineering Department.
Brown worked on nuclear reactors, and later worked in optics and optical fabrication including work on the Hubble Telescope. He retired in 1994.
During his career, he received two prize medals including the Rudolf Kingslake Medal. Brown was a renaissance man, an avid photographer, painter and calligrapher.
His hand-tooled pens made of exotic woods were prized by calligraphers around the world. He also was a passionate book collector and chef, as well as a supporter of the theatre, opera and symphonies around the Bay Area. He was a member of Friends of Calligraphy, Optical Society of America and the International Society for Optical Engineering. He was a member of the St. Charles Borromeo Catholic community in Livermore.
He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Virginia Jurgens Brown; children, Kevin Brown (Lorri Wilson) of Livermore; Linda Trudeau (Scott Trudeau) of Livermore; Susan Brown of Livermore; Carol Brown of Columbia, Mo.; and Diane Brown of Los Angeles. His son, Stephen, predeceased him in 1977. He also is survived by nine grandchildren, Cameron Hoffman-Brown, Cody Hoffman-Brown, Kelly Trudeau Kechriotis (Chris Kechriotis), Kendall Trudeau, Jack Trudeau, Angela Utreras, Gabriela Utreras, Nora Peckham and Nicholas Peckham, and one great-grandchild, Easton Kechriotis. He also is survived by his sisters, Janis Brown Baker of Windsor, and Eugenea Brown Niehoff, and a brother, Gary Brown, both of Anderson.
Other survivors include numerous nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and nephews; extended family members are Sharon Hoffman of Manteca, and Luis Utreras of Bogota, Columbia, and Jim Peckham of Columbia, Mo. Brown was an Eagle Scout, and he served in the U.S. Army in Korea.
Funeral mass will be at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 1315 Lomitas Ave., Livermore, today (Sept. 17), at 10 a.m. Lunch and reception to follow at Beebs, 915 Clubhouse Drive, Livermore, CA. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to: Pippin Pocket Opera, 469 Bryant St., San Francisco, CA 94107 and the Society of St. Sulpice, Provincial House, 5408 Roland Ave., Baltimore, MD 21210-1988.
