Carl Brown

Carl Brown May 26, 1935 - April 23, 2026

 Carl, husband, father, granddad, brother, friend, scholar, teacher, author, captain, and pilot was a fun-loving man of humor, integrity, intellect and compassion. He was born to parents Paul Brown and Beatrice H. Des Roches Brown on May 26, 1935 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Carl’s father worked on tugboats so Carl got an early taste for boating as a very young child. The family moved for Paul’s work and eventually settled in Wakefield, Massachusetts during World War II when Paul worked as a government inspector. Carl graduated from Reading, Massachusetts high school in 1952. He skipped his high school graduation ceremony to travel with a group to Fairbanks, Alaska to work on the F. E. Mining company gold dredges. This experience solidified Carl’s love for Alaska and the arctic. By the time of this trip he had read almost every novel, book, and article written about the region for young people and his Dad made this trip possible for him because of this interest. Throughout his life he returned to Alaska to work and to visit. He drove the primitive Alaska Highway many times. He fought forest fires which took him into the interior of Alaska’s wilderness. He then did land surveying which took him on construction projects throughout the state from Barter Island in the far arctic to work on the DEW line radar site, to Nome, Ketchikan and small villages. Carl’s love of winter extended to winter sports. He skied as a young man and in recent times he closely followed the Iditarod sled dog races and watched curling tournaments.

 Carl’s early work in Alaska provided the money for him to attend college. He attended the University of New Hampshire for 2 years (1953-1955) He was interested in history and then discovered anthropology. He transferred to Mexico City College and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology in 1959. Carl looked back on his time in Mexico as some of the happiest time of his life. His love of learning was evident throughout his life. He went on to become a University professor of anthropology at Oregon State University and a founding member of the Anthropology Department there. He studied at the University of Oregon where he met his wife Janet Louise Baldridge Brown in 1963. Carl’s work at Oregon included studying cold weather adaptation for his Master’s Degree in physical anthropology and research trips to Costa Rica and Santiago, Chile for his PhD work as a Latin America specialist.

 He belonged to the Oregon State University flying club that was based in Albany, OR. He earned a private pilot’s license and derived a lot of pleasure from flying. Carl, Jan and another pilot friend flew a high performance single engine Mooney aircraft from Albany to the East coast to visit family and friends in New Hampshire and Maryland and then back home again to Oregon. It was a trip of a lifetime with unbelievably beautiful scenery and interesting stops along the way. 

His interest turned to boating adventures after his daughter, Claire was born. He thought boating would be more fun for the whole family than flying. He had a wooden boat built in Portland that Carl and Jan finished in their driveway. “Woodstock” was launched in Lake Union and the family enjoyed cruises in the inland waters of the Salish Sea for many years. Carl’s love of boating and the islands led him to build a home in Friday Harbor. While living there Carl worked for a local land surveyor and got to explore many of the islands for work. Boating adventures during vacations took him throughout the San Juan Islands, the Canadian Gulf Islands and into the Canadian wilderness. Carl was happiest at the helm of his boat and was able to continue boating until he was 80 years old. By then he had a 36 foot trawler that he shared with his daughter and son-in-law. “Sunbear II” became his home away from home for many boating seasons. He always said “We had a lot of fun!” and indeed a lot of fun was had by all who came aboard. 

Travel adventures became standard for Carl. He made friends wherever he went and always had a good story to tell. He took a sabbatical year for travel in Europe while at Oregon State. A visit to the Altamira Cave in northern Spain was a life changing experience. The cave was still open to the public at that time and the incredible Upper Paleolithic cave paintings were masterpieces to behold. Carl chartered a cabin cruiser on the Thames River, navigated the scenic river locks and enjoyed the villages and towns along the way. River cruising seemed quite tame after boating the inland waterways of Washington and Canada. To get to Europe and back the family traveled on freighters. In his later years he enjoyed many cruise ship vacations taking him to Alaska and Europe numerous times.

 After retiring, Carl tapped into his creative side and took up writing. He was already a published author of an academic work and now turned to writing novels. In Olympia, he participated in a local writers group and met with writing friends weekly to share and critique each other’s work. He completed 3 novels and had files of ideas for many, many more. He traveled to England multiple times for research and was very proud that he was issued a Reader Pass for the British Library in London which allowed him access to archives there. He was quite impressed with the reading rooms and service he received at the British Library. Cambridge University library also extended him access to their archives. He was always an avid reader, loved movies, theater, and music especially Big Band era music. A favorite get away was a weekend in Port Townsend which included a movie at the historic Rose Theater.

 The absurdity of the lack of constructive political discourse in today’s politics left Carl disheartened, sad and angry. Many fiery conversations lit up our living room as we listened to the most recent revelations and Carl couldn’t help but compare many of the current policies to the World War II era. Carl passed away peacefully at 90 years old on April 23, 2026 at St. Peter hospital Olympia, WA. Carl, the intellectual and the romantic who had a quick smile, contagious laugh, great wisdom and deep love enjoyed a rich and long life to the fullest. He will be greatly missed and long remembered by his family and friends. He loved his family above all else! He is survived by his wife, Janet Brown, his daughter, Claire Jennifer Sokoloski, his grandson, Cameron Thomas Sokoloski, his granddaughter Rachel Michelle Sokoloski, his son-in-law, David Sokoloski and his brother Christopher Aguda-Brown. 

He was preceded in death by his father Paul Brown, Harrisville, NH, his mother Beatrice Des Roches Brown, Laconia, NH, his sisters Susan Audrey Brown and Janet Marilyn Brown. Carl’s family will gather aboard Claire and Dave’s boat, “Tropical Serenade” to remember Carl and place his ashes in his favorite harbors