Asharoken Judge Charles Brown Dies At 83

Asharoken Village Justice Charles D. Brown, 83, died in his home on July 16 after a long battle with cancer.

Brown was born in Manhattan and grew up in Riverdale and Scarsdale, NY. He attended Scarsdale High School and went on to receive an undergraduate degree in history and a graduate degree in law from New York University, as reported in Newsday. After receiving his law degree, Brown joined the U.S. Army and served during the Korean War from 1952 to 1954 as part of the medical corps.

He and his wife, Martha, moved to Asharoken in 1966 and he became involved with civic life, serving as a village trustee, and on the zoning board of appeals and the conservation board. In 1980 he became Asharoken's Acting Justice and was elected judge in 1986.

Brown was of counsel at international law firm SNR Denton in Manhattan at the time of his death and was previously a partner with Thacher Proffitt & Wood, LLP.

"He was a wonderful man," Martha Brown said of her late husband in a phone interview Monday. His personal philosophy was to be "kind to other people, work as long as your able to, love your family, and provide for your family," she said, and he continued to work throughout his two years of chemotherapy treatment.

Asharoken Police Chief Ray Mahdesian knew Brown for 40 years. "He was a kind, compassionate man who volunteered his services to the community and he did so unselfishly for three decades," he said, recounting how Brown would often go out of his way to help people.

"He would come down to the police station at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning before going to his regular job in the city and arraign the defendants just so they wouldn't have to spend time in jail waiting for an available magistrate. He did that to help people."

Brown loved to windsurf, swim, play tennis, scuba dive, and walk along Asharoken's beaches in his free time. He is survived by his wife and two sons, Gregory of Northport, and William, of Manhattan and was predeceased by his parents and brother, Alan.