It is with saddened hearts we announce the passing of George Alfred Brown on Aug 16, 2021 at age 86.  He was an amazing brother, Dad and Grandad and will be dearly missed by his daughter, Patricia Stephens-Brown,  her children- Matthew, Andrew and Samantha; his son Glenn Theriault (Crystol) and their children- Christien, Justyn, and Alyssa. He is predeceased by his elder sister Edith and survived by his sister Barbara Ann Marshall (Dave) and their families. Dad loved to connect with Barb each week to catch up on all their family news, and was especially excited to hear of how the children and grandchildren were faring.  He was the conduit from which the news was shared with family in Nova Scotia.

Dad was born Nov. 18, 1934 in Halifax, NS to Alfred and Violet Brown. Living in central Halifax he went to Joseph Howe School until grade three and attended the Full Gospel Church. In 1943, during WWII his father joined the army as an Armourer in Aldershot and the family moved to Kentville, NS. Dad's early years were church oriented because his parents were deeply involved in church work. He attended church 3 times on Sunday, Tuesday and Friday nights on a regular basis and every night of the week if there were special events. He achieved many Sunday school awards.

For the record...Dad's grandchildren were his special pride and joy. He loved to hear of their daily and weekly news, encouraging them, sharing his wisdom and knowledge while recognizing they each had their own special talents and purpose in which he supported them to develop. Dad was always on call as needed, he loved going for drives and transporting the grandchildren home from school and where they needed to go. Living in Oxford, he enjoyed helping Glenn & Crystol with getting the grandchildren to their different activities – Christien and Justyn to their hockey, of course he would cheer them on with their game and Alyssa to Figure Skating & Dancing, always excited to see her performances. Some of his most enjoyable times were when he took his grandchildren to the movies when they were young.

Dad enjoyed many special adventures with his grandchildren, Matthew, Andrew and Samantha when they were young,  introducing them to plenty of experiences: train rides, vacations in PEI and of course the Sandspit Go-karts were always a must....Dad loved the Go-Karts too having owned a couple of "Mustangs" in his younger years!  His granddaughter, Samantha, was also blessed with the opportunity to experience a visit to France, so Dad helped make it possible for her. Throughout his life he took us all on many an adventure, leaving us with precious memories we will cherish forever.

Dad was creative and loved music. In grade 4, while attending Kings County Academy, he took part in a musical version of "Cinderella and played the part of "Cupid".  He was small in stature and always loved the girls, so it was a perfect part for him!  While in Kentville, the family attended the Salvation Army church and Dad learned to play the trumpet and later sang with their Songsters. As music was an important part of his life, there was always an organ in his house where he would sit and play a song by ear or with a grandchild introducing them to its' melody. Dad would often break out in song singing one of his country favourites, "Anytime" by Eddie Arnold or sing along with a Gaither's video or TV episode. The old gospels were ingrained within him. Two gospel songs that were special to him were Because He Lives and Until Then (My heart can sing when I pause to remember…). He was carried through many turmoils with this underlying strength and fortitude….along with his stubborn will. Dad loved life and lived it to the fullest extent, always wanting to lend a helping hand. He was a traditionalist with an "old school perspective" and high standard who had a big heart underneath his sometimes rigorous presentation.

After the Second World War ended, when his father got his discharge from the army, the family returned to Halifax. He attended Chebucto and Bloomfield schools from Grade 7 to Grade 9. From grade 4 to grade 8 his marks during the year were high enough that he never had to write final exams. At Bloomfield High he took part in after school sports (basketball, softball & soccer) as well as joining the singing club. In the summer months he spent a lot of time bicycling with his friends. Every spring he would strip the bike down and make repairs as needed and give it a fresh coat of paint.  He cared for things meticulously and had one bicycle that lasted him from Grade 4 until he got his driver's license at age 17. Dad was a collector, inherited honestly from his parents, who captured many precious moments with mementos and photography….recording memories on slide, print and digitally to share with family members. As a youth, he also had a stamp collection which occupied his time.

As a teenager, Dad loved sports. He didn't play organized sports, but played plenty of baseball and street hockey. He built hockey nets out of wood and burlap potato bags and made a pair of hockey goalie pads out of an old life preserver. His love of sports continued throughout his life. He regularly engaged a "Blue Jays" game, scrutinizing each moment play by play, elated with the win or analyzing the loss.

From his early years Dad was a builder. He always enjoyed making things and helping other people any way he could. One of Dad's earlier memories was getting his first "Meccano" set when he was about 6 years old and built cranes and wagons or whatever he could think of. As he grew older, his projects got larger such that his cranes and elevators were taller than him.  Dad always said he learned a lot about engineering from those "toys". When Dad was in Grade 8, his father bought him a kit to build a radio and through this project he learned a lot about electronics. Dad also enjoyed working with wood and spent many hours helping a friend of his build his new house and when his sister, Barb and brother- in- law decided to build their house he was out there from foundation to completion enjoying every minute of it. Another one of his projects was building a shed at his daughter's house to house his grandchildren's bicycles. This was part of who he was and he continued to enjoy building things and look for projects that he could get involved with. One of his latest projects was building a large table for his grandson in Oxford to put his computer and all his gaming devices on.

He completed his Grade 10 at Queen Elizabeth High School In 1950 and then enrolled at the Halifax County Vocational High School (which had just opened) and took a course in Drafting. While attending Queen Elizabeth High, he joined the Army Cadets and in the summer of 1950 attended a 6 week camp at Valcartier, Quebec where he passed a course in Radar, which included basic electronics. He has always tinkering and able to repair household electronic equipment before the transition to more modern technology.

Having an eye for precision, Dad completed the Drafting course and graduated in 1952. After which he began working for the Canadian Government as a Draftsman at DND/Defence Research Board in Dartmouth, NS. He worked there until September 1955, then was transferred to their location in Shirley's Bay, Ontario (just west of Ottawa). Dad remained in Ottawa until September 1965, working for several divisions of DND ending up at DND Headquarters in the Naval Department. In September 1965, Dad transferred back to Halifax and spent the next 25 years working as a Draftsman at the DND Dockyards retiring in January 1990. While living in Ottawa, he also had a part-time job as a Drive-in Theatre Snackbar Manager for 7 years until the theatre was sold. Dad had a sense of humour too, and  always appreciated a good joke.

Dad was an adventurer, a King Scout and later became the Armview District Commissioner. At age 12 he joined the Boy Scouts which were held at the Salvation Army. He earned the level of "King Scout" and the rank of  Troup Leader. At age 18 he became Assistant Cubmaster & Assistant Scoutmaster.  In 1949, he attended the !st Canadian Jamboree in Ottawa as a King Scout. In 1975, he took on the job of Cubmaster of a Fairview cubpack and assisted in building a cabin at Millers Lake for both the cubs and the scouts. He then became the District Cubmaster for the Armview District and later, the District Commissioner until he resigned those posts in 1981. Dad loved the outdoors, camping and traveling ...always being conscientious of the environment.

In 1954, Dad married Shirley Church and while married to her they had one child, Patricia Ann Shirley, born in Ottawa in 1956. They became separated in 1965 and later divorced in 1968. While living in Ottawa Dad picked up two more hobbies; fishing and further developed his photography skills. Saturday nights were traditionally Hockey night in Canada with fish and chips for supper. Dad returned to Halifax from Ontario in 1965 and purchased a house in Fairview, living there with his parents. Dad remained single until 1970, when he married Marie Esther Soucy  (Theriault). Esther had one son, Christopher Glenn, whom Dad legally adopted in 1971. Dad and Esther separated in 1981 and later divorced in 1984. During his marriage they did a fair amount of camping in Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island both tenting and in a hard top camper. Dad loved animals and they knew it was treat time whenever he visited. In his senior years, he often offered to dog sit and spoiled them like children. The love of his life was his cat "Smokey" who lived for 22 years and played the hockey pucks when a game was on the TV!

When Dad retired from DND, he cared for his parents and they spent much of their time traveling around the Maritimes. An annual trip was also taken to Ontario to visit relatives there. Spending many evenings at Point Pleasant Park watching the ships come and go in the Halifax Harbour was another favourite pass-time. When his mother passed away in 1999,  Dad cared for his father until his father passed away in 2008, at the age of 98. Dad carried on Grandad's Christmas tradition and made Christmas pudding for family members every year.  In 2008, just prior to his father's death, Dad was admitted to hospital for double bypass heart surgery. In 2010, he sold his house in Fairview, and decided to move to a seniors apartment in Oxford where his son and family lived.  When Glenn and Crystol decided to buy a new house in Oxford, he moved into their old home making the move process easier for them.

Helping his son, Glenn at Big Lake Camp near Oxford was a big highlight of Dad's week. Conversation and peeling potatoes, what better way to pass the day! Having a sweet tooth and hearing of another bake sale in Oxford brought him delight with the anticipation of purchasing yet another lemon meringue pie. Dad stayed close in touch with his daughter too and loved to hear about how the garden was coming along ...if it had been raided yet again by the deer and offering a remedy to avoid future encounters ...or what new household projects were being undertaken ...and if he had an opportunity to draft a building plan ...he was creating it within a moment's notice.

Dad led an active and robust life with many accomplishments. His family was very important to him and his life impacted many others as well. We thank you Dad for everything you gave and shared with us. It will be forever treasured in our hearts. Dad loved the ocean and chose this as his final resting place. In remembrance, because of his love of animals, a donation can be made to your local animal shelter or SPCA