Lebanon, N.H. —
He graduated from the Episcopal Academy in 1944 and enrolled in the V12 Program. Eager to serve his country and be a participant in World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was assigned as a shipboard radar operator in the Pacific. Discharged from active duty in 1946, he earned a Baccalaureate Degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1949.
After much soul searching he decided to become a doctor and in 1956, he graduated with a Medical Degree from the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine. He interned at the Pennsylvania Hospital as had his father and older brother. Choosing to become a Family Practice Physician he settled in Lyme, N.H. and began his practice with Dr. Bill Putnam. After a year he moved to Lebanon where he began his solo practice. He was affiliated with Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital and was the first physician in the area to have “scheduled” office hours.
In his career, spanning nearly four decades, he delivered 1839 babies. He was the first President of the New Hampshire Society of Family Practice Physicians, served on numerous boards including the Grafton County Senior Citizen Center where he was Secretary and a volunteer of “Meals on Wheels” for years. In June 2003, he received The Vaughn Award, N.H. State recognition for his volunteer work. He received the Lebanon Citizen of the Year in 2006. His 1944 Class was awarded the Alumni Society’s 2015 Distinguished Service Award from Episcopal Academy.
He married his wife, Flora Meyer in 1997 and he said their union gave him great happiness. They were devoted and loved traveling together, reading, enjoying cultural events, and entertaining friends in their home. Tom was a joy to be around and he had a marvelous sense of humor. He enjoyed the Boston Red Sox, playing Scrabble, volunteering at the GCSSC, seeing his former patients and living the life of a small town general practitioner. He was a humble man who led a life of service to his community and family. He believed in leaving the world a better place through his actions and he will be greatly missed by all those who were privileged enough to know him.
Survivors include his wife, Flora Meyer; his sister, Mrs. Charlotte Dallett of Taconic, Conn.; daughter, Betsy Cantlin and husband, Terry of Randolph Center, Vt., daughter, Sue Black and husband, Bill of Astoria, Ore. and Block Island, R.I.; son, Thomas S. Brown, Jr. and Kathy Gross of Santa Rosa, Calif.; stepson, Dante Birch and wife, Krista of Williamstown, Mass., stepson, Luke Birch of Lebanon, N.H.; grandchildren, Mora Cantlin, Eric Cantlin, Henry Black, Cori Black, Justin Brown, Alyssa Brown, and Flora Birch; and many nieces and nephews. His previous marriage to Nancy Jones ended in divorce and his second wife Antoinette Domingue died of natural causes.
A special thanks to the Lake Sunapee Region VNA and Hospice, Joan Silver, Sue Phillips-Young, and Ciara Dodge, Dr. Adam Schwarz, and Phil and Sue Clark.
A celebration of his life will be held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 9 West Wheelock St., Hanover, N.H. at 11 a.m. on Monday, June 27, 2016. A reception will be held after the service in the Parish Hall and private interment will follow at a later date in Maine.
The family wishes that any donations be made to his favorite charities, St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, Main Street, Norwich, VT 05055 and Grafton County Senior Citizen Council, 10 Campbell Street, Lebanon, NH 03766.
Messages of condolence may be expressed with the family through an online guestbook by visiting www.rickerfuenralhome.com.