Jeffrey Theodore Brown

Jeffrey Theodore Brown, born in Falmouth, MA and raised in Pocasset, MA, moved to Florida in 1989 to pursue his dream of becoming a firefighter. His love for fire fighting began as a toddler with his father being a fire fighter at the local station near their home. When Jeffrey heard the bells going off at the station and the dispatch announcing the call, he would run to their front window to watch the fire truck roll out of the station. As a second-generation fire fighter, he completed almost 38 years of fire service, 34 of those years with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue. As a fire company captain, he promoted brotherhood with each and every coworker. Being a firefighter meant everything to Jeffrey from dressing his daughter in his fire boots and helmet to helping his son authenticate his fire fighter Halloween costumes. He promoted tours of the fire station, and encouraged fire fighters to bring their children in to explore the station and the trucks. Most of all, he dedicated a day every year to the Great American Teach-In, where he would bring in his gear and air packs to teach about fire safety and career opportunities to the students in his wife’s Language Arts classroom. Finally, the greatest reward of all is his son, Luke, being hired with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue as a third-generation firefighter.

Jeffrey enjoyed playing recreational hockey. He had an awesome experience representing the fire department in the Guns and Hoses tournament where he scored the winning goal with an assist from retired Lightning player, Dave Andreychuk. He enjoyed playing for many years in the over 40 league.

His life ended tragically and abruptly with a rare prion disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, where the proteins in his brain mutated causing an accelerated Alzheimer’s type reaction. This rare disease is incurable and untreatable. Jeffrey passed peaceably in a comatose state leaving all who loved him devastated and broken hearted.

Jeffrey is survived by his wife, Stephanie and his children, Jillian and Luke, as well as his beloved Cape Cod family.

A memorial mass for Jeffrey will be celebrated 11 a.m. Saturday, May 31, 2025 at St Stephen Catholic Church, 10118 St Stephen Circle, Riverview, Florida 33569.