Bartholomew John Sebastian Brown, of Feasterville, PA died at the age of 33 on Monday, December 5, 2011 while climbing the highest mountain in Japan, Mt. Fuji.

In addition to his parents, George and Antonina L. Brown of Feasterville PA, Bart is survived by his siblings, nieces, and nephews: Tanya Murgia, and her husband Charles of Hilltown, PA and their children, Sarah, Rebecca, Gianna, and Charles; Georgine Brown of Bristol and her daughter, Soluz Brown-Lauer; Thaddeus Brown, and his wife, Regina of Douglassville, PA, and their children, Michael, Regina, Mark, and Laura Bell; Mary Beth Shay, and her husband Kevin of Langhorne; Andrew Brown, and his wife, Kristyn of Glendale CA, and their son Felix; and Peter Brown of Feasterville.

Bartholomew John Brown was born on April 5th, 1978 in Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania. He had two older sisters and an older brother, and one younger sister and two younger bothers. Though he was the middle child there was nothing mediocre about him. His first formal education was at Mater Dolorosa Catholic School. There he received awards of excellence in every subject upon graduation. These included fastest runner and 8th place in the Philadelphia Archdiocesan spelling competition. He was a young athlete who loved running and swimming. Being part of the Boy Scouts, he progressed from Cub Scout, to Eagle Scout.

Bart received a scholarship to Holy Ghost Preparatory School. There he earned the highest GPA in his German and Math classes each of his four years there. In addition, he decided to study as an exchange student in Germany. Being an enthusiastic athlete he also became the Captain of the cross country team and received the Dr. Dave Proven Award for the most dedicated athlete. He graduated Summa cum Laude in the class of 1996. Bart was offered full scholarships to several universities including Carnegie Mellon and Stanford.

Bart declined these scholarships in order to discern the religious life. He joined the Legionaries of Christ Seminary in Connecticut to give God the first shot. There he studied Latin, Greek, Spanish, The Catechism, and The Bible. He also memorized the Gospel of John in German and English, as well as the names of all the Popes in succession. After two years Bart, with the guidance of his spiritual director, discerned that it was not God’s will for him continue toward Priesthood.

Having lost his scholarship opportunities, he enrolled into community college for one semester in order to regain a scholarship. He was offered another academic scholarship and continued his education at Lehigh University in Bethlehem Pennsylvania. Finishing two years early in 2003, he graduated Magna cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a Masters in Civil and Structural Engineering.

In 2004, he worked as a civil engineer designing bridges, and in 2005 he worked in New York City on the design for the new world trade center Freedom Towers.
He was a devout and zealous Catholic and attended World Youth Day’s in Denver 1993, Rome 2000, Canada 2002, Germany 2005, and Spain 2011. He was a volunteer for WYD Germany, and coordinated accommodations for over 6,000 youngsters. He was an avid Alpinist and in 2009, Bart with his brother Peter began their mission to journey and mountaineer through all the National Parks in the continental US. Within 2 years, Bart adventured through over 50 National Parks world wide, including Parks in Europe and Asia.

In 2010, he traveled to Europe to earn an International Masters of Business Administration at Emlyon Business School in Lyon, France. While studying there, he traveled to the University of Oulu in Helsinki Finland, to evaluate various corporate businesses. After a year of studies, he received another full scholarship to Waseda University in Tokyo Japan, on an exchange program. About two weeks before his planned return for Christmas 2011, he decided to take his last chance to climb Mt. Fuji.

Not only was every moment of Bart’s European and Asian Journey, but every moment of his life was embraced and lived to the fullest. He excelled in all that he did and achieved all that he put his mind to. He was by no means a typical man, but an inspiration to all that were blessed to know him.

His family will receive relatives and friends from 7:00 - 9:00 pm on Wednesday, December 28, and on Thursday, December 29, 2011 from 9:30 - 10:30 am at the Joseph A. Fluehr III Funeral Home, 800 Newtown Richboro Road, (at Holland Rd) Richboro, PA, and then to his Funeral Mass 11:00AM at St. Bede the Venerable Church, 1071 Holland Road, Holland, PA 18966.

There will be a luncheon to follow at 278 Hulme Ave. Langhorne, PA 19047. The family will have a private burial at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to help defray the cost of bringing him home.
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