Obituaries

Pioneer in Elderly Housing Dies at 91

F. Quentin Brown passed away Wednesday, Nov. 22. A lifelong Evanston resident, he served in the Navy, made innovations in housing for the elderly and travelled the world.

F. Quentin Brown, a graduate of Evanston Township High School and Northwestern University, returned to Evanston in 1945 after serving in the Navy Air Corps in the Pacific Conflict. His mother (Alma Cutler Brown) had purchased a large home on the northeast corner of Oak Avenue and Dempster Street in Evanston in which she took care of her mother. Friends and neighbors soon started asking her to take care of their loved ones – hence the beginning of the “nursing home business.”

In 1950, “Q” as he was nicknamed, drew up plans for the first non- eleemosynary building specifically designed to care for the elderly. While there were no government regulations at the time, “Q” incorporated fireproof construction, an elevator to move patients between the three floors and seamless floors so there were no thresholds between the hallways, bedrooms and bathrooms in order for patients to move about in wheelchairs. The design included two fireplaces, wood panel living room, screened in porches, sun deck and patio to provide as much of a home like atmosphere as possible.

“Q”’s real passion was traveling and did so throughout the world with his wife (Marlo Silvestri D. 1996) and sons (Ross S. D. 2003) and Quentin Jr. In 1963 he shipped his 1959 Cadillac Coupe DeVille on the Leonardo Di Vinci to Rome and then drove through Europe for six weeks with his two sons, his mother and his mother-in-law. On another journey, he took his immediate family and stayed in Hong Kong for 8 weeks visiting various locations through-out the Far East.

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He was an avid photographer and took thousands of feet of 16MM movie film, snap shots and slides, all of which he later narrated.

He is survived by his son Quentin Jr. (Laurie) Brown – their children Nicole T. Brown (fiancée Daniel Gehbauer) and Sean Q. Brown (Chelsea Muse); his daughter-in-law Kathleen Brown and her two sons, Justin and Jonathan Brown and great granddaughter Adalyn Muse.

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Visitation Saturday, December 1, 2012, from 1:00 p.m. until time of the Funeral Service at 2:30 p.m. at Donnellan Family Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Boulevard at Old Orchard Road, Skokie, IL 60077.

A reception will be held immediately after the service from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Interment will take place privately in Memorial Park Cemetery, 9900 Gross Point Road, Skokie, IL 60076.

Funeral Information: (847) 675-1990 or www.donnellanfuneral.com.

Editor's Note: This obituary was provided by Donnellan Family Funeral Home. You can read more local obituaries on our obituaries page.


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