Norman Stephen "Buddy" Brown Jr.

Norman Stephen Brown, Jr., 73, of Tampa, Florida, died April 29, 2026 from cancer. Norman was born in Tampa in 1953 to Mary Baird Shackleford and Norman Stephen Brown, their only son after three daughters, into a family whose pioneer roots in Tampa began in the 1880’s. Norman’s mother Mary called him “Buddy” in memory of her brother who had passed away at the age of eight. In an uncanny echo of the boy who would have been his uncle, young Norman was beset by his own life-threatening internal organ trouble before he himself turned eight. After a protracted battle and surgery in Boston, he was able to keep his kidneys and carry on.

Buddy became an exceptional runner in his adolescence. He graduated from Berkeley Preparatory School and earned his Bachelor of Arts from Hobart College in Geneva, New York, where he excelled in philosophy and poetry.

After living and traveling in South America and working in Washington D.C., Buddy returned to his hometown, where he then resided for about half a century. He loved Tampa – its nooks, parks, sports, quirks – and, as a fifth generation Floridian, its history.

Buddy studied electronics engineering in Tampa for a spell.Thereafter his home doubled as a wonderous workshop of opened-up devices – a place of endless study, diagnosis, and repair.

He was an avid duplicate bridge player and enjoyed competing in ACBL tournaments as a member of the Tampa Bay Bridge Center. Whether partnering with his best friend, Andrew Macfarlane, or his long-term bridge partner, his mother, Buddy’s bridge game was known to be formidable.

His most cherished role was being “Uncle Buddy,” relishing time with his three nephews, Taylor (and his wife), Daniel (and his family), and Jason, whenever he could, chaperoning them as young boys on trips to Disney World, Busch Gardens, and then all around Tampa over the years, sending them boxes chock full of family mementos and consistently unpredictable content, and mentoring Taylor early in his life as he caught his first fish (a flounder that grows larger with every telling).

A proud godfather, Buddy stayed involved in the life of his goddaughter, Emily, helping her with her homework as a teenager, and encouraging and admiring her as she became an adult and mother of two children.

Buddy was active and interested in the lives of his cousins and their children, delighting in get-togethers with his Owen cousins, and especially appreciating their supportive presence in his later years.

Quite naturally, Buddy emerged as the go-to genealogist for both sides of his family. His ever-expanding mastery and the deeply researched family tree that he created made him a treasured family resource.

He lived his last chapter at Brookdale Bayshore, making friends and appreciating life, especially while solving puzzles with Anna Maria and the gang. Hearing of his passing, Anna Maria remarked, “He was so special, so kind, so clever.”

Buddy lived life on his own terms. As his mother was fond of saying, he marched “to a different drummer,” but he always had time to be generous with people, and never sought credit for doing so, whether helping his blind neighbor or donating to charity the items that he repaired after finding them discarded too readily by others.

As one family friend said, “He was one of a kind – so brilliant.” Buddy was beloved for his unmistakable self – a self that, to those who knew him best, was full of good heart, rascally fun, vast knowledge, restless intellect, and a signature wit that he kept alive as much as it kept him alive, until the very end.

Buddy is preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Baird Brown-Hays.

He is survived by sisters Eileen Rhea Segrest Brown of Atlanta, Georgia and Clair Brown, with husband Richard Katz, of Point Richmond, California; nephews Taylor Segrest, with wife Jaja Bolivar, of Atlanta, Daniel Matza-Brown, with wife Maura Raggi and children Max and Timmy, of Forest Hills, New York, and Jason Katz-Brown of Anchorage, Alaska; cousins via his mother’s sister, Nan Rhea, and his father’s sister, Iva; goddaughter, Emily Macfarlane Suddath of Tampa, and lifelong friend Andrew Macfarlane of Tampa.

Buddy’s ashes will be placed in the Brown family plot at Myrtle Hill Cemetery, a short walk from his namesake, T.M. “Buddy” Shackleford, III.

A celebration of Buddy’s life will take place on Sunday, August 16, 2026 in Tampa.

Please contact [email protected] for details.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital.