April 18, 2008 - Gordon Brown Jr. of St. Thomas, V.I. and Key West, Florida, died on March 3, 2009 in Key West. He was 69 years old.
He is survived by his son, Christian Brown and his wife, Tonia; grandson, Maddox Brown; former wife, Patrice Brown; brother, Drummond Brown and his wife, Nancy; and sister, Debrot Receconi.
Gordon was born Nov. 28, 1939 in Easton, Penn., to the late Margaret Swartz and Gordon Brown Sr. He graduated from Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Penn. and served in the Marine Corps with an honorable discharge. He later attended Stanford University after working with his father in his insurance brokerage business.
He moved to St. Thomas in 1967 where he owned and operated the Village Green Restaurant and later partnered with Jim Byrne of St. Croix in Byrne-Brown Realty from 1970 until the present. He was also president of Corporate Management Services of St. Thomas.
As an active member of the Board of Realtors of St. Thomas, he served as president for many terms and also participated in numerous St. Thomas community affairs, particularly the Boy Scouts with his son, Christian.
In recent years he participated on many boards in Key West. He joined the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Williams Fine Arts Center Founders Society in 1997. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Key West Historical Society and was instrumental in the Hemingway sculpture project with the artist Terry Jones, who created the statue.
The family thanks Hospice of Southeast Florida and nurse Ruth, who gave extremely loving care and support. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Hospice of Southeast Florida or Cancer Foundation of the Florida Keys.
A celebration of his life will be held at a later date.