View source for Browne, Stephen D.

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[[Image:BrowneStephenDPortrait.jpg|200px|thumb|right|<center>Stephen D. Browne</center>]] 

==Birth==
Stephen Duane Browne was born in Avon, N.Y. on March 22, 1938. His father was a plumber and his mother, a homemaker. His parents were Ira Lewis Browne (1914 – 1986) and Mary Carson Westfall (1910 – 1974). His parent lived in Avon, NY.<ref>http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/10618136/person/6936029415?ssrc=&ml_rpos=1 </ref> His sister was:
*Heather Browne (1943 – 1944)

==Education== 
Stephen Browne graduated from Cornell University.

==Occupation== 
After graduating, Stephen D. Browne worked as a wildlife biologist in Alaska, Tennessee, and Saskatchewan before joining the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation where he worked for 32 years, specializing in game, waterfowl, and endangered wetlands.

==Marriage & Children== 
Mr. Browne married Mary Breeze in October of 1963. She was the daughter of '''[[Breeze, Howard G.|Howard G. Breeze]]''' and '''[[Helen McClellan]]'''. Their children were:
*Heidi Browne
*Erik Browne
*Adam Browne
*'''[[Bart Browne|Bart Browne]]'''

==Death==

Stephen D. Browne was killed Tuesday night, Tuesday, July 24, 2012, when he became pinned under his tractor while pulling a tree he had just cut down on his Pleasant Valley Road farm, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said. Stephen Browne, 73, was killed instantly around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. He was found by his wife an hour later, Apple said.

==Obituary== <!--DELETE THIS LINE IF NOT NEEDED-->
<!--Insert transcribed obituary if you'd like here-->
KNOX — Stephen Browne was a big man with a long reach — both in his work as a wildlife biologist and in his community as a father figure. He had thick hands that he used for heavy work and for gentle comforting. And, he had a deep, resonant voice, which he used to speak out for his beliefs.

He died on Tuesday, July 24, 2012, in a tractor accident on his Pleasant Valley Road farm. He was 74.

This week, family and friends from nearby and around the world — including Mexico, Australia, India, Afghanistan, and Ireland — have been gathering at the Brownes’ farm to honor him and celebrate his life. “He touched people from all over,” said his daughter, Heidi Browne Ricks. “Some of them, especially young men, needed a father figure…He led by example. He loved teaching, showing skills, having kids learn by doing. It’s not like sitting down with a book; it’s learning by splitting wood, bailing hay, digging a pond — he included everyone in what he was doing.”

Among those gathering from
far and wide are those that Wendy
DesAutels called the Brownes’
“extra kids.” Mr. Browne married
Mary Breeze in October of 1963,
and was the father of four children
— Heidi, Erik, Adam, and
Bart; grandfather of six; and a
father figure and mentor to dozens
of additional young people
who were always welcome at the
Brownes’ home. They called him
“Poppa Browne.”

“I was one of the extra kids,”
said Ms. DesAutels, an only child
who grew up in Berne and now
lives in Michigan. “For some, like
me, it meant a great place to play
with other kids; others actually
lived there and needed to live
there…Now, some of the extra
kids have their own children and
they visit the farm as well.”
She went on, “The property has
500 acres of streams and forests
and caves and barns full of animals.
Any time you walked with
Poppa Browne, he would show
you the secrets of the streams
and forests.”

She vividly remembered the
full-moon walks, where, shrouded
in the quiet of night, the hikers
would listen and observe. “One
time, they pulled me out of bed
— I was 6 or 7 — and we went
to the top of the hill and looked
at the northern lights. I’ll never
forget that.”

Aaron Gagne, who also spent
time as a kid on the Brownes’
farm, describes Mr. Browne as
“wise, giving, caring — a mentor
and a teacher.” Mr. Gagne’s
best friend was Adam Browne.
“I spent a tremendous amount of
time with his family at the farm,”
Mr. Gagne said. “Every day was
an education. I was a suburban
kid being taught everything from
how to drive a tractor to how to
hunt to how to sit peacefully in
the woods and listen.”

Mr. Gagne works now as the
community development director
for the city of Aurora, Colo., site
of the recent theater massacre.
He said this week that it will be
“a long road” to healing in Aurora
but some of what he learned from
Stephen Browne on the farm
in the Helderbergs will help —
“patience and how to listen to
people,” said Mr. Gagne.
Regina Fitzsimmons came
from Mexico when she was 15 to
study at The Doane Stuart School
where she met the Brownes’ children.
The farm became a second
home to her. “It was great,” she
recalled. “Their house was always
full of kids and adults from all
over. They were very welcoming
people.”

She recalled of Mr. Browne,
“He used to make us breakfast
every morning…He was a very
hardworking man, but a lot of
fun.”

Ms. Fitzsimmons recalled
hanging out with some teens who
were “into punk,” and, since Mr.
Browne had a shaved head, she
asked if he would shave hers.
She recalled with a belly laugh,
“He shaved half my head, and
then took a Sharpie to cover the
bald spots.”

She concluded of Mr. Browne,
“He was very tough on the outside
— he wouldn’t have died of
a disease; he wouldn’t have laid
down on a bed to die. But, on the
inside, he had a big heart; he was
such a nice, loving guy.”
Mr. Browne was a devoted
father to all of his children, Ms.
DesAutels said. The Brownes’
son, Erik, was born with disabilities.
Mrs. Browne wanted a
pool for Erik to swim in, Ms. DesAutels
recalled. “Poppa Browne
built that huge, gorgeous pond
for him; that was a centerpiece
for the farm. We all learned to
swim there, and we’d skate there
in the winter.” She concluded of
Mr. Browne, “He was so tender, so
thoughtful and loving, so compassionate….”
Mr. Browne sculpted other
parts of his land for his children,
too. “My dad built a waterfall for
my wedding,” said his daughter,
who was married on the farm.
“He really loved working with
nature to create beauty…He
could see the big, big picture. He
planted trees when I was tiny;
he could see what it would look
like today….We’ve been having
maple syrup from some of those
trees for years.”

Mr. Browne’s
work on the
farm shaped
the big picture
of his daughter’s
life, too.
“I learned to
be a midwife by
being with him
on the farm,”
she said. During
lambing
season, she said, “I learned how
to watch and be quiet and when
to step in and take action.”
She concluded, “For a great big
bear of a man, he was a gentle
soul. …I loved to see him hold
baby things — baby chicks, baby
lambs, baby anything. He was so
gentle and sweet. He was super,
super strong but super, super
gentle and sweet.”

'''“Scientist and diplomat”'''

Mr. Browne was born in Avon,
N.Y. on March 21, 1938. His
father was a plumber and his
mother, a homemaker.
“He had the thickest hands
I’ve ever seen,” said his daughter.
“He loved comparing his hands
to other people’s….His mom told
him to slap the pavement to get
them big and strong, and they
were.”

Mr. Browne always loved being
outdoors. “As a kid, he would run
away from school to go fishing,”
said his daughter. She added, “He
wasn’t a dummy.”

Mr. Browne went to Cornell
University, originally with the
idea of becoming a veterinarian,
“but he liked being out in the
wilderness,” his daughter said.
After graduating, he worked as
a wildlife biologist in Alaska,
Tennessee, and Saskatchewan
before joining the New York State
Department of Environmental
Conservation where he worked
for 32 years, specializing in
game, waterfowl, and endangered
wetlands.

Mr. Browne was the state
waterfowl specialist. “I followed
in his path,” said Bryan Swift,
who currently
works for
the DEC as
the head of
game management.
Mr.
Browne and
his staff set
hunting regulations
for
30 species of
waterfowl in
New York State and worked out
agreements with other states and
provinces through the Atlantic
Flyway Council, as well as coordinating
monitoring programs
and sharing research and other
information.

One of his daughter’s fondest
childhood memories is getting
up at 3 or 4 in the morning to go
duck banding with her father, as
part of his work. “We’d sit quietly
and still,” she said, as a net was
thrown over the geese; then their
legs were banded so their migratory
paths could be followed. “No
other kid got to go duck-banding,”
she said.

Mr. Swift described his predecessor
as “a combination of
scientist and diplomat.” Mr.
Browne was instrumental in two
initiatives that brought sweeping
change.

When Mr. Browne started his
job, there was just one hunting
season across the state. “He got
the state divided into zones, approved
by the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service,” said Mr.
Swift. So now the season in, say,
the Catskills is different than
that in the Adirondacks, which
benefits both hunters and birds.
Another change was controversial.

“He was deeply involved
in the transition from lead shot
to steel pellets” for hunting waterfowl,
said Mr. Swift. The traditional
lead shot was poisoning
ducks that would pick through
the mud and use the shot for grit
for their digestion. Steel pellets
had been developed in the 1970s
but were unpopular with hunters;
they had to learn to shoot
differently.

The road to passing the state
ban made for a contentious journey.
“The mortality factor wasn’t
obvious,” said Mr. Swift, and
many hunters were set in their
ways, not wanting to learn new
techniques.

“Steve had to lead the educational
campaign to inform hunters
and get them to switch. There
was a lot of resistance,” recalled
Mr. Swift. “He took it to the
masses, and was very involved in
building grassroots acceptance.
Ultimately, in 1988, it was made
mandatory. But it took a toll on
him.” Three years later, the ban
was adopted nationwide.

“He was a very intense man,”
said Mr. Swift. “He had a strong
passion for what he believed
in.”

“He wasn’t afraid of much,”
said his daughter. “He wasn’t
afraid of bucking the system,
even if it wasn’t popular.”
Mr. Browne was an avid reader
and student of history. He traveled
extensively throughout the
United States and abroad, including
several trips to Ireland.

“Always, however,” Ms. DesAutels
concluded a tribute, “he was
happiest working at home in the
fields, woods, caves, and cliffs of
the family homestead, caring
for animals on the farm and
enhancing the natural beauty of
the property by planting trees,
building new perennial gardens,
and creating spaces of supreme
beauty and quiet reflection.”

A ceremony will be held today,
Thursday, Aug. 2, at 11 a.m. at the
Browne residence, 634 Pleasant
Valley Road in Knox. All are welcome
to attend and share stories
and reminiscences. The sharing is
expected to last well into the day
so visitors are welcome to join in
when they are able. Online messages
for the family may be sent
to www.simplechoicescremation.
com. Memorial donations may be
sent to the Nature Conservancy
or Ducks Unlimited.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer
:[[h:Altamont Enterprise|Altamont Enterprise]] - August 2, 2012
==Additional Media== 

Dies in tractor tragedy
Stephen Browne mourned
as “a giant among men”


By Melissa Hale-Spencer

KNOX — Hilltown residents
were stunned and saddened to
learn yesterday of Stephen D.
Browne’s death on July 24, when
his tractor overturned, pinning
him. He was 73.

“He was a giant among men,”
said Helen Lounsbury, of Berne, a
long-time family friend, perhaps
referencing his strong physique
as well as his prominence in the
community. She also described
him as “a real worker, with a
tremendous intellect.”
Mr. Browne had served the
town as the chairman of its Conservation
Advisory Council and
had retired from a career at the
Division of Fish and Wildlife at
the state’s Department of Environmental
Conservation.
“I thought of him as sort of an
iconoclast, a guy who questioned
the status quo,” said Thomas

Elgin, who also worked at the
DEC. Mr. Browne had done research
on bears in Alaska.
Michael Hammond, Knox town
supervisor, said, “I had a lot of
regard for Steve Brown and what
he did when he served on the
Conservation Advisory Council.”
Mr. Hammond also recalled that,
during the town’s sesquicentennial
celebration in the mid-1970s,
he had gone head-to-head with
Mr. Browne, and the contest was
too close to call.
“Steve and I were winners of a
wood-splitting contest where we
had to chain saw and split wood,”
said Mr. Hammond. “I liked the
fellowship and sport of doing that
with him.”

The supervisor concluded, “He
always was helpful to people in
the town and we certainly are
going to miss him.”
Mr. Browne and his wife, Mary,
restored a historic farmhouse on
Pleasant Valley Road, where they
raised their children.
On Tuesday evening, at about
7:40 p.m., the Albany County
Sheriff ’s Department responded
to a call from 634 Pleasant Valley
Road, according to Undersheriff
William C. Cox. “He had cut down
a tree,” Undersheriff Cox said of
Mr. Browne. “He had a 2000 Ford
farm tractor he hooked to the
tree. He was on an incline and,
when he tried to accelerate, he
popped the clutch on the tractor
and, due to the weight of the
tree, it caused the tractor to flip
up on end, with the front wheels
off the ground, and it landed on
top of him.”

Undersherrif Cox said that he
was killed instantly and that the
coroner pronounced him dead at
the scene, after which his body
was taken to Albany Medical
Center. He noted that the Knox
and Berne fire departments, the
Altamont Rescue Squad, and the
Guilderland Paramedics were at
the scene along with the sheriff ’s
department.

Mrs. Lounsbury concluded of
her friends, “He and Mary were
like the perfect couple, very supportive
of each other. He was extremely
kind and compassionate,
a wonderful parent.”
In addition to his wife, Mary,
Mr. Browne is survived by three
children, Heidi, Adam, and Erik.
Their son Bart died in 2004.
At press time, memorial arrangements
were undecided.

July 26, 2012

Stephen Browne - FARMER DIES IN TRACTOR ACCIDENT: Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice

Times Union, The (Albany, NY) - Thursday, July 26, 2012

Deceased Name: Stephen Browne - FARMER DIES IN TRACTOR ACCIDENT

KNOX -- A town man was killed Tuesday night when he became pinned under his tractor while pulling a tree he had just cut down on his Pleasant Valley Road farm, Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said. 

The accident marks the second time a family member has died on the property in less than a decade. 

Stephen Browne, 73, was killed instantly around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. He was found by his wife an hour later, Apple said. 

Browne had cut the tree down with a chain saw, hitched it to his tractor and was pulling it up a hill, but the load was too heavy, the sheriff said. The weight of the tree flipped the tractor by its front wheels and trapped Browne under the vehicle, Apple said. 

Browne's wife, Mary Browne, had heard her husband cut down the tree from their house, but didn't realize that anything might be wrong until an hour passed and she had not seen or heard him, Apple said. She then left her house and made the grisly discovery, the sheriff said. 
"It's a tragic, terrible accident," Apple said. 

The victim lived on a sprawling 150-acre farm, a portion of which the family had converted into a spiritual retreat. 

In May of 2004, Stephen Browne found his son, Bart Browne, dead in the family barn. Bart Browne had hanged himself a month before he was to be sentenced for assault after he pleaded guilty to punching a man on Lark Street in Albany. 

In an interview with the Times Union in August 2004 for an article on her son's death and the assault, Mary Browne said that Bart suffered from mental problems, including schizophrenia. 
After finding his son dead, Stephen Browne did not let police near the remains until his wife came home to see his body, Mary Browne told the Times Union in 2004. 

Apple said authorities had a hard time Tuesday convincing the family to allow Stephen Browne's body to be removed from the scene. 

The Browne family could not be reached for comment Wednesday. 

Author: BRIAN FITZGERALD Edition: Final Edition Page: D8 Copyright, 2012, (c) Times Union. All Rights Reserved.

Stephen D. Browne: Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Death Record<br>
Name: Stephen D. Browne<br>
State of Issue: New York<br>
Date of Birth: Tuesday  March  22, 1938<br>
Date of Death: Wednesday  July  25, 2012<br>
Est. Age at Death: 74 years, 4 months, 3 days<br>
Confirmation: Verified<br>
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