Born in Providence on December 23, 1931, Henry Anthony Lewis Brown of Warwick, RI, peacefully passed away on June 22, 2025, at the age of 93 with his family by his side. Born in Providence, he was the son of the late Francis H. and Susanne R. (Lewis) Brown.
He is survived by his two sons, William A.H. Brown and Daniel H. Brown; three grandchildren, Hailey, Hayden and Hope Brown; two stepsons Robert and Howard Jones. He was the husband of Ann Eckert Brown. He was the brother of the late Francis H. Brown and Elizabeth F. B. Holton.
Henry lived a fulfilling life enriched with love of family and community, friendship, church, devotion to nature and a deep commitment to history and its preservation.
His life began on Spring Green Farm in Warwick where he experienced the love for fishing and duck hunting, lived through the great hurricanes of 1938 and 1954, World War II and city development including Gaspee Point and Governor Francis Farms. He graduated from URI with a degree in Agriculture before joining the Army in 1954, where he was stationed in Germany as a medic and ambulance driver.
He proudly served as a board member on the RI 1663 350th Colonial Anniversary Commission, RI and Warwick Charter Commissions, Warwick Historic District Commission, and the Warwick Wildlife and Conservation Commission for which he served 23 years and retired as a lifetime honorary member as recognized by the Mayor of Warwick. He was a founding member of the Gaspee Day Committee and Bake Master for their annual Clambake, VP of the Warwick Historical Society, Board Member of the Cloud Hill Museum, Board Member of the Pawtuxet Village Association, Warwick City Historian, member of the Sons of the American Revolution as well as General Society of Colonial Wars, and even had a day named after him by the Mayor of Warwick, Joseph Solomon – “Henry A. L. Brown Day August 18, 2020.”
He was profoundly proud of his service to the Warwick Wildlife and Conservation Commission due to his love of nature and its protection. As such, he was inspired to donate waterfront land for the preservation of bird habitat to the Audubon Society. Additionally, he cared greatly for Arbor Day and the annual tree planting at various Warwick schools where he would recite Joyce Kilmer’s poem “The Tree” to school children, outlining the importance of tree preservation.
His passion for history steered him towards the Warwick Historic District Commission where his ambitions to save historical structures won him the Antoinette F. Downing Award for the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission. This same desire to preserve history drew him to the Clouds Hill Museum where he served as an original board member and made many donations of historical articles including agricultural items to enhance the museum’s 19th century additions known as the Henry A.L. Brown Agricultural Collection.
Henry was an accomplished author and published numerous books and publications with topics ranging from the Brown family and settling of the Adirondacks, RI and Warwick Railways, RI Postal History, Clambakes, RI Pictorials of towns including Block Island and Warwick, Coles Farm history and Gaspee Point history, just to name a few.
Henry’s devotion to religion led him to service as Sunday school teacher at both Asbury Methodist Church and Trinity Episcopal Church. He was awarded by Trinity for 30 years of service to the ministry for his school teachings. He was also committed to activities and programs throughout the years to help others less fortunate in the community.
His love of life, family, community and church will never be forgotten, and his contributions will live on in perpetuity well beyond his mortal life on earth. He will be missed by many and loved for his kindness and generosity to all.
His funeral will be held on Saturday, July 19, 2025, Service at Trinity Episcopal Church, 139 Ocean Road, Cranston at 10 a.m. Visitation will be Friday, July 18, 2025, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Barrett & Cotter Funeral Home, 1328 Warwick Avenue, Warwick. Burial with Military Honors will be private in Swan Point Cemetery, Providence.
