Fletcher Brown

Falmouth - Fletcher Brown died peacefully on Tuesday, March 20, 2012 in Falmouth, Maine. Son of Simmons and Mary Fletcher Brown, he was born in Falmouth in 1915. He grew up in La Tuque, Quebec where his father worked for Brown Paper Company. As a child, he spent summers in Pine Point, Maine. Fletcher graduated from Deerfield Academy and from Williams College, class of 1938.

After college, Fletcher followed his passion for skiing into the mountains of New Hampshire, working as a ski instructor for Pecketts-on-Sugar-Hill and Cannon Mt in Franconia. He enlisted in the US Navy in 1941 and served first as a PBY pilot in the South Pacific and later as a flight instructor in Jacksonville, Florida. After the war, he returned to Cannon Mt. for two seasons as a ski patrolman, instructor, and assistant director under Roland Peabody.

Fletcher then moved to Portland to work at Brown Motors, his father’s car dealership, and in 1948, he married Margaret Douglas Coleman of New York City. They lived first in Cape Elizabeth and then in Falmouth, where they raised their four children. During this time, he was a deacon at State Street Church, active in the United Fund, and a trustee of Waynflete School. Margaret died in 1974.

One of the pioneers of the ski industry in Maine, Fletcher was instrumental in selecting the site for Sugarloaf USA and participated in cutting its first trails. He was a founding member of the Sugarloaf Ski Club and then of the Sugarloaf Mountain Corporation, serving on its board of directors for many years. Fletcher continued to ski until 2006, his 91st year! The following year, he was inducted into the Maine Ski Hall of Fame for his contributions to skiing in Maine.

Fletcher was ever a devoted and accomplished fly-fisherman, returning to Quebec on semi-annual trips to the family camp on Lac Wyagamac and teaching each of his children and grandchildren in turn to fly cast and to paddle a canoe.

Fletcher’s lifelong involvement in education and community service was reflected in his appointment as Trustee Emeritus to Waynflete School and in his unflagging support for many causes and organizations including a stint as Executive Director of the Maine Cancer Education and Research Foundation. In 1983, he married Charlotte Fitzpatrick Cabot, after which they split their time between his home in Falmouth and her home in Florence, Italy. Together, they sailed Casco Bay, skied Sugarloaf, and traveled the Mediterranean, with Fletcher always a willing companion to Charlotte’s interest in Classical, Byzantine and Medieval art and architecture.

Fletcher is survived by wife Charlotte, sister Joan Brown Smith, and brother-in-law A. Gordon Clarke, all of Falmouth, son Christopher and Vanessa Margaret Brown of Littleton, MA and their children Montague and Georgina, daughter Elinor Brown Hoffman and James Hoffman of Winchester, MA and their children Susanna and Georgia, son Montague and Meeta King Brown of Weare, NH and their children Aroostine, Graham, Louisa, and Kristina, and daughter Meg Brown Payson and Philip Payson of Freeport, ME and their children Alida and Aidan, step-daughter Kathleen Cabot Fitzgerald and Michael Fitzgerald of Taos, NM and their children Kieran, Brendan, and Aidan and step-daughter Sara Cabot Arshad and Gulrez Arshad of Lincoln, MA and their children Shergul, Shehime and Yasmin.

A memorial service will be held 11 a.m. April 21, 2012 at the State Street Congregational Church with the Rev. Jeanette A. Good, Ph.D., officiating. Friends may make a contribution in Fletcher’s memory to the State Street Church, 159 State Street Portland, Maine 04101 or to a charity of their own choice.

Arrangements are being handled by the Jones, Rich & Hutchins Funeral Home 199 Woodford St. Portland

Please visit www.jonesrichandhutchins.com for additional information and to sign Fletcher’s guestbook.