William F. Brown Obituary

William F. Brown, 'Bill,' died April 24, 2020, at the age of 89 in hospice at Lowell General Hospital after a short, intensive illness.

Born in the small town of Newton Falls, OH, on July 6, 1930, Bill was the extraordinarily proud son of Hungarian emigrants, Stephen and Mary Brown. He graduated from Purdue University as a registered pharmacist and served briefly in the United States Army from 1955 to 1957. He married Florence McFarlane (always known as Charann), settling in Columbus, OH, where he worked as a sales manager for a major pharmaceutical company as well as working locally part-time as a pharmacist.

In 1966, Bill was promoted within his pharmaceutical company and moved his young family to Carlisle, MA. Bill and his wife, Charann, embraced life in Carlisle and Bill enjoyed soaking up small-town stories from the town's venerable senior residents. The Browns were very civic-minded, participating in all aspects of life in Carlisle including chairing Old Home Day celebrations. Bill may be best known in Carlisle for bringing some of the finest fiddlers to Carlisle for the Fiddler Contest he created.

Often sharing with friends and family that his parents 'forced [him] to take violin lessons,' Bill Brown, who was taught classical violin, found that he had the 'soul of a fiddler' and was never happier than when he was playing fiddle which he did until shortly before his death. Upon his retirement from the pharmaceutical company, he took that love of music and his belief that 'everyone has a musician in them somewhere' and opened a music store in 1984, the Minor Chord in Acton, MA, moving to Littleton in later years. The Minor Chord was a calling and a labor of love for Bill that lasted for thirty years and, in addition to selling instruments and sheet music, he brought in skilled musicians who gave music lessons to hundreds of adults, children, and teens over the years.

Bill Brown was pre-deceased by his wife, Charann Brown, and his youngest daughter Kerri (Brown) Lufkin. Bill is survived by his daughter, Viki Brown, of Lexington, MA; his son, Erik Brown, of Sterling, PA; he was 'Pop-Pop Sir' to Emily Brown of South Paoli, PA; Jason Brown, and Matthew Brown, both of Bethlehem, PA, and; he was 'Mr. Bill' to his daughter-in-law Charlean (Stever) Brown of Bethlehem, PA. Bill is also survived by his older sister, Margaret (Brown) Kistler of Newton Falls, OH, who recently celebrated her 100th birthday; his niece Kristen (Kistler) Olson and her husband Andrew Olson, III, of Chicago, IL; and his nephew Kimball Kistler of Newton Falls, OH. He is a great- and great-great-uncle to many nieces and nephews across the country.

A private graveside service is planned for immediate family only due to the COVID-19 pandemic in order that all of our family and friends can stay healthy and remain safe. While the current health care crisis makes it impossible for us all to come together at this time to remember Bill, the family looks forward to holding a Celebration of Life at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in his name may be made to the Disabled American Veterans, PO Box 14301, Cincinnati, OH, 45250-0301, an organization near and dear to Bill. His daughter, Viki, and son, Erik, would also like to encourage family and friends to consider giving the gift of life by making an appointment to donate blood at the nearest American National Red Cross location in honor of Bill.