In his later years, Major George Brown was fond of the words of General Douglas MacArthur in his retirement speech: "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away."
For his family who witnessed George's final struggle, we might edit this with a line from Dylan Thomas: "Old soldiers never die, they 'rage, rage against the dying of the light.' " George passed from life with the kind of obdurate resistance and strength of spirit with which he had lived.
George was the fourth child of seven of Daisy and William Brown, who had immigrated to Canada from England in 1910. As the middle child, he could be a good mediator and negotiator. He was fiercely loyal to his siblings, his parents and later his wife and family. Witness to the Depression, he could be obsessively frugal or extremely generous as the occasion warranted. He loved Christmas and all the festivities that brought friends and family together for feasting and good cheer.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, George enlisted in the army, specifically the Royal Canadian Artillery Corps, eventually earning his commission. He served in Italy and was later part of the Allied forces that liberated Holland. He was wounded in combat and always claimed that a piece of shrapnel remained in his left temple.
In 1945, he was stationed at the Barriefield military base near Kingston, where he met and courted Gwendolyn Hodge. They were married in 1946 and had two children, Daphne and Bill.
George remained a career soldier for the rest of his working life, serving with the Royal Canadian Regiment in Korea and later with a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. He was well decorated. Like other army personnel, he and his family moved frequently, spending two years with NATO forces in Antwerp, Belgium. His last posting was Ottawa, where he retired with the rank of major in 1971.
The great joy of George's senior years was the birth in 1983 of his grandson, Shane, to whom he was devoted for the remainder of his years. He lived to see Shane graduate in commerce from the University of Ottawa and later become a chartered accountant. In 2009, George and Gwen celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary surrounded by family.
George enjoyed the outdoors. He owned a series of sailboats and plied the waters of Lake Simcoe, the Gatineau River and later the St. Lawrence. When he first retired, he bought a century farmhouse in southeastern Ontario and became a gentleman farmer. For a time, he and Gwen were snowbirds and spent their winters in the sunny south. In recent years they lived in Brockville to be closer to family. George passed "into that good night" with his son and daughter by his side.
Bill Brown is George's son.