Condolences for
Richard H. Brown, Sr.

My name is Raj and I was a friend of Richie. I always knew him as Richie rather than Dick. My condolences to all the family.

Ironically, I met Richie at a funeral about 10 years ago when he gave me a ride to the service. We became friends soon after while I was between jobs and he was semi-retired.

Richie was always taking care of others. It was summertime and we would head down to Toms River every Wednesday and spend a few hours working on his mother’s house…

Mrs. Brown, his mother, was a little hard of hearing so the TV was turned up…they would both be talking loudly, very loudly. Mrs. Brown was sure that she still knew what was best for her while, of course, Richie knew better what was best for his mother. Son and mother were equally hard-headed. They would start to argue…the volume would go up, they would get louder and louder until they retreated to neutral corners. They quickly cooled off….it was good entertainment for me and obvious they were a mother and son who loved each other.

Afterwards we would drive over to Jenkinson’s on the Boardwalk for drinks, food, and an ocean view and wish we were 30 years younger.

They were nice, fun times.

Richie still had the enthusiasm of a teenager and a little devil left him. He would come wheeling into my street, screech to stop in front of my house, pop out of his vehicle and strut to the front door wearing his trademark sleeve-less shirts. The neighbors would shake their heads every time The Fonz showed up.

Richie was Italian…old school, hard-working and the boss. Everything he did had to be perfect quality…this was good if you wanted him to do something …the nightmare, of course, was if he wanted you to do something. Perfect, perfect, perfect. You were lucky if you ever found a single fingerprint on any of his cars. It is easy to understand why Brown’s Upholstery was a fabulously successful business and continues to be so today.

Richie was proud…if you caught 10 fish, he would tell you of the time he caught 12 fish. If you caught a 25 pounder, he would tell you the time he caught a 30 pounder. His teams never lost, they just ran out of games. He loved his Eagles and Phillies.

Why am I not surprised he cheated just a little about his age.

I drove to visit Richie in the hospital a few days after his operation… he was still a little groggy, on pain medication. We watched a couple hours of Eagles football on TV. I didn’t realize it at the time but when I left, I was lucky to get a last chance to hold his hand and give him a hug.

I never liked attending funerals, but I am glad I went to that one 10 years ago.

Richie, my friend, I will miss you.

Randy and Thelma,

Much love and prayers to you and your entire family as you navigate through this very difficult time. You have suffered an incredible loss and our thoughts and prayers are with you always-

Love
Georgie, Tim, Gracie and Jp Leddy... and Gogie

Thelma, my thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family.

Darrin and family, so sorry for your loss. May he rest in peace.

You will be missed by many. I have many fond memories of hanging out at your house as a child. You and Thelma were like second parents to me. I will never forget our trip to Florida to see the Conroy's and Disney World. I had a great time. When we lose our loved ones they are no longer suffering, but that is when WE suffer. My thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Brown family as they go through this hard time. I love you all.