Kenneth Ira Brown, a man whose abundant spirit of generosity touched everyone he knew, died peacefully at his home, surrounded by his family, on Wednesday, November 24, 4 days shy of his 87th birthday.
Ken was born in 1934 and grew up in Winthrop, Massachusetts. After high school, Ken enlisted in the Navy and served honorably. In 1958, he married his high school sweetheart June Ablow and they remained soul mates for the next 63 years. They settled on Pickman Road in Beverly Cove and raised three children, Doug, Todd and Kym, who have been the joy of their lives.
Almost upon setting foot in Beverly in 1962, Ken and June began to nurture strong friendships on the North Shore and beyond, most of which have endured for almost 60 years and have truly enriched their lives. Their cherished book club has been meeting monthly for over forty years.
Ken went into the family business, Salem Paper Company, which June’s father Saul Ablow had started in 1922. Ken was the inside man, taking care of operations, while June’s brother Herbie Ablow spent his time on the outside growing the business and meeting with customers. Together, they grew Salem Paper into a prominent and successful business serving the needs of restaurants, institutions and other customers throughout the North Shore.
Ken had an entrepreneurial spirit and many passions. He started a travel agency (Travel World in Salem), a mobile satellite truck company, an ambulance company and a concierge business in Marco Island, Florida (Details By Ken), where he and June spent much of their time in their later years.
But no passion was more important to Ken than his family. He cherished his beloved siblings and treated their children as his own. He was an “all-star” father and would often take his children to work with him on Saturdays, always beginning the morning with breakfast at Red’s Sandwich Shop in Salem, and then teaching them the ropes of work at a retail paper store.
Ken loved to collect just about everything: stamps, VHS movies, coins, Stuart Woods books, model Hess trucks, a dune buggy, a motorcycle with a sidecar, and a snowmobile with a sleigh, to name just a few. And nothing brought him greater joy than to share his toys with his children and their friends. His basement was the envy of the neighborhood and included a pinball machine, a pool table, a ping pong table, a juke box, and the first “pong” video game.
Ken had some regrets in never finishing college. But instead of dwelling on his past, he turned that energy into a deep passion for providing the best possible education for his children. This resulted in him paying for a combined total of 45 years of schooling for his three children. When he made his final educational payment to the law school where one of his son’s would graduate, and he no longer had school payments to make, he would often say it was like winning the lottery.
After family, Ken’s greatest passion was food. And no food was more cherished to him than his beloved bagel. He was the world’s most discriminating bagel connoisseur and would welcome any debate on the topic of who made the best bagel (he would always win). He tried them all, but Bagel World in Danvers won his top honors. He would bring bagels to everyone he knew, including his dentist, his doctors and nurses and their staffs, the VA, the local library, his children’s college roommates, and the car mechanic. Giving people bagels was his way of sharing his love with the world.
Ken gave much of his time to other people and causes. He served as President of the Marco Island library, where he led their successful capital campaign for a new addition. He also served as a life mentor and guide to several Naples, Florida high school students. One of his beloved mentees was like part of the family and Ken swelled with pride when he graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and became a commercial airline pilot.
Ken loved to travel with family and friends. As one might expect from a Navy man, he enjoyed cruises and taking his grandchildren on a Disney cruise was a great highlight of his life. He also fell in love with Bermuda and took the family on several trips there, the most recent of which was a magical time in 2019. All 10 Travellers, including grandchildren, endured the embarrassment of wearing his chosen bright pink “Brown’s Blast” baseball hats on the plane, which even got a shout out from the pilot.
Ken was truly one of a kind and has left a lasting legacy of decency, love and heart-felt generosity.
Ken is survived by his wife June (Ablow) Brown of Danvers, Mass; his son Douglas Brown and daughter-in-law Jennifer Ryan-Brown of Sherborn, Mass; his son Todd Brown of Salem, Mass; his daughter Kym (Brown) O’Brien and son-in-law James O’Brien of Boxford, Mass; his sister Marcia Hahn of Rockport Mass; his sister-in-law Gayle
Brown of Hingham Mass; his brother-in-law Herbert Ablow, his sister-in-law Carol Ablow, and his grandchildren Tyler, Chase and Maddie O’Brien; Connor and Caroline Brown; and Brendan Brown. He was predeceased by his brother Bernie (“Butch”) Brown and Sheila Greenfield.
There will be a private family ceremony and burial at Sharon Memorial Park on Sunday, November 28 at 2 PM. It will be available for anyone to access through Webex. The family will be sitting Shiva at the home of Kym and Jim O’Brien 12 Roundtop Road, Boxford, Mass. On Monday, November 29 from 4-8 PM, and respectfully requests that only those who are vaccinated attend the Shiva. For details about virtually accessing the ceremony, attending the Shiva and other information, please contact the funeral home or visit: www.stanetskyhymansonsalem.com.
In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made to the Kaplan Family Hospice House, C/O Care Dimensions, 78 Liberty Street, Danvers, Massachusetts 01923 or the National MS Society, 101A First Avenue, Waltham, MA 02451.
The family would like to honor and thank the amazing caregivers who provided outstanding whole-hearted care to Ken during these past several months. They will be forever grateful for their compassion.
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