Richard L. Brown (Rick) was born 68 years ago today, on July 26, 1945 to Lewis James and Marcella Josephine Brown, in San Francisco, California. He has a younger brother, Daniel James Brown. Rick and Dan had an idyllic, nurturing childhood, having wonderful parents who encouraged curiosity, imagination and the joy and fun of learning.
Rick received his bachelor’s degree from UCLA in 1967. After graduating from college he enlisted in the Air Force, as a communication officer, achieving the rank of Captain, where he served at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. He looked back at his time in the military with much fondness.
After the military he attended Indiana University (Bloomington) School of Law, graduating in 1975, Magna Cum Laude. He loved law school, made many friends, and from then on considered himself an honorary Hoosier. He practiced law in Alameda, California for over two years and soon realized that the practice of law did not match his conflict-averse personality. In 1977, combining his love of books and his passion for the law, he attended the University of Washington’s law library science program with the hope of becoming a law school library director.
After graduation in 1978 he moved to Tallahassee, Florida, as Assistant Law Librarian and Assistant Professor of Law at Florida State Law School. After four years at FSU he moved to Arizona State University, as Director of ASU’s Law Library and ultimately obtaining tenure as full Professor of Law. He remained at ASU for sixteen years, teaching Property Law and Land Use.
In 1998, ASU’s Law School Dean, and very good friend, Dick Morgan, asked Rick to move with him to Las Vegas as a founding professor and Director of the Law Library at Nevada’s first law school, the William S. Boyd School of Law. This was a rare opportunity in legal education and a wonderful and challenging time for Rick. There he helped build UNLV’s law library and law school. He taught Land Use, Property Law and Wills and Trusts. He loved teaching and was very good at it. After retiring he continued teaching law as a visiting professor at Michigan State University, Seattle University and UNLV law schools. And he volunteered as a docent for the Sandman, a “retired” tug boat located at Perceval Landing’s marina here in Olympia.
In 1976, Rick met his wife to be, Lynnda Pomeroy, who came as a package deal, as Lynnda had a three year old daughter, Shawnna Pomeroy. After a few months, Rick wanted Lynnda to meet his family. This was a nervous time for Lynnda, but Shawnna instantly won the hearts of his parents and brother. They all realized Shawnna came as a package deal, so they soon also welcomed her mother, Lynnda into their hearts as well.
In 1979, Rick and Lynnda married. They had a very special, very loving relationship, supporting each other in each other’s professional, personal and parental growth. Rick encouraged and bolstered Lynnda’s confidence in pursuing her bachelors, masters and law degrees.
In 1980 Jesse was born and in 1985 Marcy was born. Rick loved being a father and it showed. He embraced Shawnna and fathered her as he did Jess and Marcy. Shawnna in turn honored him by asking him to walk her down the aisle when she got married, and later gave her twin sons, Alex and Max, each the name of Brown, for their middle name. Shawnna believes Rick was more of a father to her than her own father was. Rick was loving and kind and nurtured her love of reading and travel. She hopes that her sons will grow up to be the kind and gentle men that Rick has been.
Jesse is grateful to her father for sharing his passion for nature and his love of learning with her. Her favorite childhood memories are of the road trips they took together around the state of Arizona. She treasures the values that he embodied of kindness, gentleness, and easy acceptance of others, and strives to live up to those characteristics.
Marcy loved summers as she and her father would spend extended vacations at the family’s cabin on the Olympic Peninsula. Every year, for six weeks, they would spend time on beaches, in boats, and in the woods. She inherited his love and respect for the sea, and was able to experience and learn many things from him and with him that most girls do not, including sailing and boating.
Soon after his father died, Rick began to seek a more formal religious journey for himself. As a family we attended the Unitarian Universalist Church but while we liked this community and their commitment to social causes, Rick wanted more in his religious quest. He soon discovered the Friends community in Tempe, AZ and felt right at home both socially and in meeting his religious curiosity and needs. When we moved to Olympia he sought out the Olympia Friends Meeting and he immediately connected with this meeting and approximately a year before his diagnosis, he attended some classes and later became a member of the Library committee, with the hope of asking to become a member of this Quaker community. In March he was overjoyed to learn that he was accepted as a Member of Olympia Friends Meeting.
He was such an intelligent man and always furthered his education through his love of reading, always reading many books at a time. He loved the law, history, politics, religion, fiction, mysteries, and so many other topics. Many Friday nights, as a family, we would go out to dinner and then to our favorite bookstore. Our children were encouraged to read anything and everything that interested them. And because of this, our home was filled with the most amazing, rich conversations. Rick also loved music and had an eclectic taste, from Country and Western, Rock and Roll, Jazz, Classical Music and Opera. He shared his love of music with the whole family.
Rick was so gentle and kind, and had a subtle sense of humor. As stated above, he was an amazing father, and wonderful son and brother and truly loving husband. He will be missed terribly by all.