George W. Brown of Danvers died Thursday, November 5, 2026, at the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers. He was 85. He and his wife, Carolyn (Butler) Brown, were married 62 years.
He was born in Melrose on November 17, 1940, the second of four children of Norman and Virginia (Stratton) Brown, and went through the Saugus public schools. As a young man he stepped away from school for a time to help raise his younger brother and sister while his mother recovered from a car crash.
He began his working life as a machinist, and that trade eventually led him to radiation oncology equipment. He formed his own company and spent years installing treatment machines in hospitals across the country, traveling hundreds of thousands of miles, often with family and friends working alongside him.
In Saugus he was a presence on Cliftondale Square as the proprietor of Saugus Hardware. He served the town for many years on the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Building Committee and Town Meeting. He was a co-creator of Cliftondale Square Appreciation Day, the forerunner of the town’s Founders Day, and of the Saugus Historical Society calendar, for which he went out every year to line up sponsors.
At home he worked in wood and stained glass and in the kitchen. Few things pleased him more than building furniture and toys or cooking for his family. He haunted flea markets and yard sales looking for antiques and stained-glass lampshades he could bring back to life. His family describes him as selfless, the first to help anyone in need and the first with a joke at exactly the right moment.
He leaves his wife, Carolyn; his children Eric Brown and his fiancee Sue of Saugus, Darren and Stacey Brown of Melrose, Heather and Paul Cole of Danvers, Ryan and Danielle Brown of Danvers, and Christopher and Danielle Brown of Peabody; ten grandchildren, Ariana, Rhianon, Harrison, Grant, Sarah, Blake, Aiden, Ellis, Tyler and Zachary; his brother Bill Brown of Saugus; and many nieces and nephews, among them Jarrod Staples, whom he counted as immediate family. His daughter Kristin Brown and his sisters Elinore Elliott and Norma Staples died before him.
Visiting hours are Monday, November 9, from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Bisbee-Porcella Funeral Home, 549 Lincoln Avenue, Saugus. The funeral will be held at the funeral home Tuesday, November 10, at 10:30 a.m., followed by burial at Walnut Grove Cemetery in Danvers. In place of flowers the family suggests donations in his memory to the Michael J. Fox Foundation at michaeljfox.org.
Compiled from information published by Bisbee-Porcella Funeral Home. Photograph courtesy of the family via Bisbee-Porcella Funeral Home. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.
