Wayne G. Brown

Wayne G. Brown of Riddle Village, Media, previously of Rose Valley, died on June 30. He was 86.

Wayne was the son of the late Ben and Helen Brown. He graduated from the William Penn Charter School in Germantown in 1951, then the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1955. He was active in extracurricular activities and was a member of the Chi Psi fraternity.

After serving three-and-a-half years in the Navy, he returned to Philadelphia to work for Smith Kline & French (now GlaxoSmithKline), then Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. Later he worked at Temple and Jefferson universities in administrative roles. He earned his MBA at Temple in 1974. He also worked for other nonprofits, then finished his career at Vanguard.

Throughout many of those years, Wayne studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Tyler School of Art, and University of the Arts. Over several decades, he won many prizes for both representational and abstract artworks.

After retiring from the work-a-day world, Wayne became an active volunteer for Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College, Hedgerow Theatre, and the Community Arts Center. Shunning committees, he preferred to get his hands dirty gardening, cleaning up, and doing various art projects.

He loved attending Philadelphia Orchestra concerts and the occasional opera. He was awed by great music.

Wayne is survived by his wonderful wife, Elisabeth Jönsson Brown, originally from Sweden, and his brother, Barry, and Barry’s family, of Oakton, Virginia.

A celebration of his life will be held at a later date.

Contributions in Wayne’s memory can be made to the Community Arts Center, 414 Plush Mill Road, Wallingford, PA 19086, or the American Swedish Historical Museum in Philadelphia.