Robert J. Brown MD

Robert J. Brown MD, 86, of Watertown, NY, passed away on Sunday, April 28, 2024 at Upstate Medical Center of Syracuse, NY. 

Dr. Brown was born in Potsdam, NY on February 2, 1938 to the late Seward F. Brown and Cecelia Robertson Brown. He graduated from Ogdensburg Free Academy in 1956. After earning his BA and a Master’s Degree in biology at Syracuse University he attended medical school at the State University of New York at Buffalo where he graduated in 1967. Dr. Brown then completed a medical internship at Millard Fillmore Hospital followed by a 4 year residency at Buffalo General and University and Affiliated Hospitals and became a diplomat of the American Board of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery.

In 1973 he joined the medical practice of Douglas Sanford MD and the late Frederick Peckham MD in what eventually became the Watertown Ear, Nose, and Throat Group MD, PC. He served on a number of medical committees at Samaritan Medical Center and was a past president of the then Mercy Hospital Medical Staff (~1983). Upon retirement from active medical practice in 1998 he obtained further training and worked as a certified counselor and clinical supervisor at Credo Community Center for the treatment of addictions in Watertown for ten years. Following retirement from Credo in 2008, Dr. Brown served as an active volunteer and patient advocate at Samaritan Medical Center. In 2009 he was presented the Marsala-Wertman Award for outstanding service in the substance abuse field.

He was a past chairman of education and the past president of the Jefferson County Chapter of the American Cancer Society and served for 6 years on the Board of Directors of the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Council (ASAC) of Jefferson County. As a member of the congregation of First Presbyterian Church of Watertown he served on both the Board of Deacons and as a Church Elder.

In 1990 he married Bonita Mason Rowland, a nurse at Hospice. Besides his wife, Bonita, he is survived by a son, David and daughter-in-law, Lisa in Syracuse, NY and three daughters; Elisabeth McCann and son-in-law Patrick in Farmington, NY, Cynthia Mayoral in Concord, MA, and Catherine Brown RN of Cary, NC, a Physician’s Assistant in North Carolina, along with eight grandchildren. There are also two stepdaughters, Shannon and her husband Phil Romeo and Sharri and her husband Chris Delano of Dexter, NY. He is predeceased by sisters Barbara Brown Semmaro And Margaret (Peggy) Brown. 

Calling hours will be held from 10 AM to 12 PM on Saturday, May 4, 2024 at First Presbyterian Church of Watertown with a funeral service immediately following.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to support the First Presbyterian Church of Watertown Steeple Project. 

Arrangements have been entrusted to Cleveland Funeral Home of Watertown, NY. Online condolences may be made at www.clevelandfhinc.com

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