GEORGE G. BROWNING

Fairport, New York.  George Guild Browning, MD., died of melanoma last week at age 94.  He was preceded in death by his wife Catherine, son David, and his 6 younger siblings ( Myrtle, John, Wilma Jean, William, Frank and Frances ).  He is survived by his children, Robert, Carol ( Benedict Diniega, Matthew, Bekky, Rachael ), Wendy Gates ( Jennifer, Travis and Nicky, Ryan and Natalie ), and Debra ( Philip Lichtenfels, Philip ).

George was born in Iran to missionary parents and grew up knowing Catherine.  He went to college and medical school in Ohio through the Navy V-12 program and was posted by the Navy to several states and Guam.  From there he moved his family to Iran with the Point-4 Service and worked on public health issues, including smallpox eradication.  Returning to the US, he attended the CDC EIS course, worked for state public health departments, earned his MPH at U of Michigan, then joined the USPHS Indian Health Service.  For 10 years he was the Director of the Aberdeen, South Dakota Area Office, guiding all health care services and programs on American Indian reservations in a 7-state area.  After a year at IHS HQ in Maryland, he retired with 30 years of public service, then worked at Kodak Park as a physician for 15 years.  

George and Catherine dedicated their lives to service benefitting all humankind and volunteered in many ways wherever they lived, including Meals on Wheels and Literacy Volunteers in Rochester.  They also liked gardening, camping, hiking, travel and Elderhostels.  George, born with an insatiable curiosity and passion for learning, also enjoyed photography, scuba diving and snorkeling.  He had his own darkroom and woodworking shop, where he made furniture, picture frames, and doll furniture for his daughters.  Books were collected into a home library.

George was an affectionate and tender-hearted husband, dad and grandfather.  Every day was marked by his exclaiming, "I'm the luckiest guy I know!"  His gentle clasp of the hand, his sunny smile, his sweet and encouraging words and marvelous intellect will be sorely missed.  He did not want a service to mark his passing but asked that people consider serving others in whatever way they could.  Three of his many favorite charities were Rochester Foodlink, UNICEF, and Doctors without Borders.  We appreciate the compassionate attentions of George's team at the UR Medicine Home Care Hospice Service.  Messages may be left on the Tribute Wall.

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