Henry Brown's Obituary
Henry Brown
February 13, 1926 – August 11, 2008
Henry Bedinger Rust Brown (“Harry”) died Monday, August 11 at the age of 82. He is survived by his wife Betsey; his four children, Peter Brown, Sandy Brown, Libby Devlin, and Harriet Dickerson; and his 10 grandchildren. He was the great grandson of IDA LEE Rust.
Born in Pittsburgh, PA, he spent his summers as young boy working on the family farm (“Rockland”) in Leesburg. He attended The Choate School; served in the Navy during WWII; and went on to college at Harvard, graduating in 1947 with a degree in Economics.
After graduating, Harry worked as an investment banker on Wall Street. He settled in Westfield, NJ to raise his family. A man ahead of his time in being fuel efficient, he established “Harry’s Famous Carpool” which traveled daily from Westfield to New York City from 1960 to 1985 with 34 plus members over the years.
While working as investment banker on Wall Street, Harry became frustrated with the inefficiency of the banking system and felt that bank account holders should be able to get a higher return on their money than a typical savings account offered. In 1969, Harry Brown launched America’s first Money Market Mutual Fund (The Reserve Fund) which significantly impacted the financial service and banking industry for years to come.
In 1985, Harry moved to Rockland to retire and take over management of the family farm as his parents, (Elizabeth Fitzhugh Rust & Stanley Noel Brown), had died. While living in the Nationally Registered Historic house and property, Harry was able to maintain it as an operating farm in spite of encroaching development in the surrounding area. Harry was also engaged in preserving Loudoun County’s rural heritage with the Friends of Route 15.
A member of the Catoctin Farmers Club, Harry served as Archivist, Secretary, and Treasurer over the years and they declared him “The Indispensable Man”. He was instrumental in helping to publish The History of the Catoctin Farmers Club and Farming in Loudoun County. He was also actively involved with Loudoun Country Day School, a school his mother had helped to found.
Harry Brown enjoyed many hobbies in retirement such as beekeeping, gadgetry, and fireworks. One of his most favorite activities was the Pumpkin Chunkin held each year in Lewes, DE. After his first visit to the event in 1999, he and a team of friends designed and built a human powered trebuchet which won the World Championship each year from 2000 through 2003. Harry pulled the lever.
Services will be held at St. James Episcopal Church, 14 Cornwall St. in Leesburg on Saturday August 16th at 11:30 AM. For directions and details, please call the Loudoun Funeral Chapel in Leesburg. (703) 777 – 6000, www.LoudounFuneralChapel.com Donations in Harry’s memory may be sent to Capital Hospice, Loudoun County Volunteer Rescue Squad, or Loudoun Health Care Foundation.
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