David “Dave” Manchester Brown Jr., 71, passed away suddenly at home in Westport, Conn. on Feb. 28, 2025.
Dave, son of the late David and Dorothea (Elmer) Brown, was born in Chicago, Ill., on March 15, 1953. He is survived by his partner, Betsy Royal; sons, Robert (Melissa), Daniel (Mili), and Thomas (Kathryn); grandchildren, Kaia, Penelope, Rhea, Lucia, Theodore, Sona, Nicholas, and Madeleine; stepchildren, Ashley (Michael) and Eric (Marisa) Edmund; siblings, Franklin (Nancy), George (Patricia), and Margaret (Aleks Kins); and eight nieces and nephews.
Dave’s family moved from Illinois to Weston, Conn. in 1964 and later spent two years living in the Philippines when he was a teenager.
After traveling the world on their return to the U.S., Dave finished his last two years of high school at the Loomis Chaffee School in Connecticut. Dave then studied at the University of Denver, where he cemented his lifelong love of skiing.
After several escapades that included a stint on the crew of a tuna fishing boat off the coast of Oregon and hitchhiking his way home through Canada (one leg of which he hopped on a freight train and wedged himself beside the engine), Dave resettled on the East Coast, married, and lovingly raised three boys. He took Danbury’s softball league by storm with team camaraderie and enthusiasm, winning three-peat championships and two-time manager of the year for “Hub-Tub,” named after one of the laundromats that he owned and operated.
Dave loved adventures both big and small. He visited countries across Europe and Asia, spent time in Morocco and Brazil searching for gems, frequented tropical locations, traversed the United States in his Buick, and made many expeditions with Betsy to Telluride, Colo.
Above all else, Dave’s favorite place to be was the family property along “the healing waters” of McFarland’s Cove in South Bristol, where his parents met as teenagers. From Kahuna dives into the ocean, to captaining family on his boat Todaro (named for his three sons) to weed-whacking trails for his pirate grandchildren, to gazing at the ocean with a cup of coffee and a conversation, he was the ultimate Maine man.
Dave was always excited to help others. He viewed tasks that some would consider inconveniences as opportunities for discovery and meaningful interaction. He loved problem solving through conversation and problem fixing by following through.
Dave approached each day with an unmatched excitement for life and treated each introduction as an opportunity for friendship. Those who met him were apt to feel an immediate bond and fondness for him, as he often brought laughter and light to rooms that would have been silent and dim without him.
There was not a game that Dave did not enjoy, but his favorites were chess and backgammon, both of which he had a high aptitude for. He also enjoyed and excelled at golf and skiing. He loved card games like “Oh-Heck” at the family table, often being the root of laughter for the younger generations.
Dave maintained incredibly close and loving relationships with his family, making daily “just checking in” calls, excited to hear about everyone’s own adventures. He was known to make unannounced visits to people’s houses, which were met with love and excitement. In recent years, “gPa” brought joy to the lives of his eight grandchildren through his boundless enthusiasm and patience with games and activities, and with focused, quality time that made each of them feel special. Whether you called him Dave, Tiger, Mercury, Uncle Wacko, Captain Seabean, Dad, or gPa, to know him was to love him.
A service to honor Dave’s life took place on Sunday, March 16, at Norfield Congregational Church in Weston, Conn. with another celebration of his life scheduled in South Bristol this summer. A recording of the service is available at youtube.com/@nccweston/streams.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to the Coastal Rivers Conservation Trust, which maintains the nature preserves around South Bristol that he loved to explore with his family, at coastalrivers.org/ways-to-give/donate.
