Gardner Norton Brown, a 30-year resident of Homosassa, Fla., died in his sleep on Feb. 8, 2015. He was 91.
Gardner was born in New Bedford on Sept. 3, 1923 and grew up in Edgartown. He graduated from Edgartown High School, and served in the Navy as a bombardier in WW II. He retired from Eastern Air Lines after 30 years of service as a commercial airline pilot.
Gardner enjoyed playing golf, reading, and driving his motor home all over North America. He was married at the Edgartown Federated Church to his childhood sweetheart, Arlene Blanche Deitz, in 1944. They were together for 62 years until Arlene died in 2006.
He is survived by his daughters, Marsha Brown and Michele Burns (and her husband Edward). Gardner was the grandfather of nine: Jeannette Brown, Stanley Strelecki, Deborah Bourgault, Katherine Cranston, Derek Burns, Keith Strelecki, Loren Burns, Stacey Strelecki, and Katie Burns. He is also survived by 17 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife Arlene, his son Michael, and his parents William Brown and Gertrude Norton, as well as his brothers Harry, Donald, Stanley, and Douglas.
A memorial service will be held at the Edgartown Federated Church, Cooke Street, Edgartown, on April 25, 2015, at noon. A reception at the church Parish Hall will follow. Interment will follow the reception at the Old Westside Cemetery, located between Robinson Road and Cooke Street, Edgartown.
