Gary Lee Brown's Obituary
Gary Lee Brown
August 3, 1947 – August 1, 2025
Gary Lee Brown, of Diamond Springs, CA, passed away in Oakland, California on August 1, 2025, two days before his 78th birthday. Three weeks before his passing, Gary suffered a cardiac event and was cared for with exceptional skill and compassion by the team at Summit Hospital before peacefully succumbing to his injuries.
Gary, affectionately known by his family as Buddy, is survived by his wife of 50 years, Virginia (Ginger) Brown; their three children: Geoffrey, Daniel, and Samantha, their spouses: Meredith, Gwendy, and Sandro, and seven grandchildren: Abraham (17), Zachary (15), Solana (13), Eloise (10), Wesley (10), Lucia (8), and Sylvie (4), and his brothers: Steven and David. He was preceded in death by his brother Kit and parents Kenneth and Patsy.
Born on August 3, 1947 in Pasadena, California, Gary was the second of four sons born to Kenneth and Patsy Brown. The family moved to Scottsdale, Arizona where Gary and his brothers ran wild in the desert, building dune buggies and hosting a menagerie that included a territorial duck, a tarantula, and a monkey. He received his B.S. from the University of California, San Diego in 1972 and while attending a Spanish language program there, met the love of his life in Ginger. Rumor has it he asked her to marry him on their first date.
Ginger and Gary were married in 1974 and lived in California, Iran, and Oregon before settling down in Harvard, Massachusetts to raise their three children. Gary worked as a ‘computer guy;’ he humbly downplayed his many accomplishments despite holding three patents for the LISP programming language, which is still used today. He earned a Masters in Technology Management from NTU and was employed by Digital Equipment Corporation and Xerox for the majority of his career. In Harvard, Gary enjoyed taking the kids on poker group camping, coaching soccer, and caring for many beloved dogs. After their children graduated from high school, the Browns moved back to California, first to Palos Verdes Estates and then to Diamond Springs for their retirement.
Gary was an exceptionally good human who dedicated his life to caring for his family, always creating amazing spaces for them to gather. He was a lifelong creator and skilled woodworker, leaving his family many handmade pieces – each crafted with care and always intended to be useful. His immense intelligence was surpassed only by his kindness and gentle spirit that touched most everyone he met. A deep appreciator of literature, music, history, rational thought, and curious facts, he loved sharing his eclectic interests with his family and friends through spirited discussion. He could tell a really good joke. He was loved beyond measure and his memory is cherished by his wife and children who will miss him every day.
A service honoring Gary’s life and memory will be held on August 31, 2025 in Berkeley, CA. In lieu of flowers, please pick up a crossword puzzle and do a math problem for Buddy. Alternatively, he would appreciate a donation to Wikimedia, to help preserve knowledge for humanity.
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