Obituary: Mel F. Brown, former trustee, 85

Mel Brown
Brown

Mel F. Brown, a former member of the Washington University in St. Louis Board of Trustees, died Sept. 1, 2020. He was 85.

Brown was an active, longtime university volunteer, serving on the Board of Trustees from 1999-2003. A 1957 alumnus of Arts & Sciences and a 1961 School of Law graduate, he also had served as chair of the Alumni Board of Governors and as president of the William Greenleaf Eliot Society.

Brown was a founding member of the School of Law’s National Council. To address the debt of students pursuing a legal career in public service, he initiated and personally funded the Mel Brown Family Loan Repayment Assistance Program. He also endowed the Mel and Pamela Brown visiting professorship at the law school.

In recognition of his service to the university, Brown received numerous honors, including a Distinguished Alumni Award in 1996 and the Dean’s Medal in 2011, both from the School of Law; a Distinguished Alumni Award from Arts & Sciences in 2007; and a Founders Day Distinguished Alumni Award in 2008.

Brown is survived by his wife, Pamela; sons Andrew Brown, MSW ‘92 (Stephanie, MSW ‘94) and Steve Brown, JD ‘95 (Rebecca, JD ’96, vice chancellor, secretary to the Board of Trustees and chief of staff to Chancellor Andrew D. Martin); stepdaughters Tami Sunshine (Brian) and Kim Miller; and 10 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Jacqueline Hirsch Brown, AB ’63, who died in 1981.

A private family service will be held. Memorial contributions are suggested to Washington University School of Law, MSC 1210, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, 63130, and to Forest Park Forever, 5595 Grand River Drive, St. Louis, MO, 63122.

Read the family’s obituary online.

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