[Colorado-Talk] Charlie Brown dies

[Peggy Chong]

Hello All:

 

Sadly I wish to pass on the news.  

 

Charles "Charlie" S. Brown

Date of Death: August 1, 2021

CHARLES ST. CLAIR BROWN

 

ATTORNEY, PUBLIC SERVANT, DISABILITY RIGHTS ADVOCATE

 

Charles S. Brown, 76 of Winchester, VA, passed away Sunday, August 1, 2021
at Winchester Medical Center.

 

Charles (Charlie) Brown was born totally blind. Surgeons were able to save
some vision, but he remained "legally blind" for life. Charlie and his
younger brother James were raised in the Boston Suburbs. Until 8th grade,
Charlie attended the Perkins School for the Blind and then became the first
blind graduate of Wellesley High School in Wellesley, MA. He received an
A.B. in American history from Harvard in 1967. While Charlie was at Harvard,
his parents moved to the Chicago area. After Harvard, Charlie moved on to
Northwestern Law School. He received a JD and passed the Illinois and
Connecticut bars in 1970. In 1969 Charlie married Jacqueline Stone (Vassar,
1968) who was earning an MBA from Northwestern.

 

It was difficult in those days for blind lawyers to get jobs. Eventually,
Charlie and Jacki were able to move to Washington, DC, where Charlie joined
the Legislation and Legal Counsel Division of the U.S. Department of Labor
Solicitor's Office (DOL). He rose through the ranks to become Counsel for
Special Legal Services. There, he was responsible for supervising and
drafting of DOL proposed legislation, preparing and clearing DOL
Congressional testimony and internal DOL directives, including Secretary's
Orders. His responsibilities also included serving as counsel to the Bureau
of Labor Statistics and management of the DOL's ethics and financial
disclosure program. In this capacity, he worked on obtaining Senate
confirmation of numerous DOL officials. In 1982 Charlies received the
Departments' Distinguished Career Service award.

 

In 1991 he was appointed Designated Agency Ethics Official at the National
Science Foundation (NSF). Charlie was responsible for writing and
implementing NSF regulations dealing with conflicts of interest, and
financial disclosure requirements. Resolving conflict-of-interest issues was
important for employees, visiting scientists, and numerous individuals, used
as peer reviewers of NSF grant applications. Charlie played a major role in
protecting the integrity of the NSF peer review process, which was often
referred to as the "gold standard" of merit review within the science and
engineering community. In 2006, he received the Foundation's Gold Medal for
his accomplishments.

 

After retiring from the Government in 2007, Charlie opened his own law
practice in Washington, D.C.and later moved to Westminster-Canterbury in
Winchester, VA. He specialized in disability rights, voting rights, and
nonprofit administration matters. He became active in the American Bar
Association (ABA), serving on its Commission on Disability Rights and its
standing Committee on Election Law. He was also elected to the Council of
the ABA's Senior Lawyers Division. Other professional activities included
serving as a founding board member of the Disability Rights Bar Association,
as well as various offices in the National Association of Blind Lawyers.

 

Charlie was a long-time member of the National Federation of the Blind
(NFB). He served in various volunteer positions including: Virginia State
President for 26 years, member of the National Board of Directors, and
National Treasurer. In 2006, he received the Federation's Jacobus tenBroek
award. It is considered the highest form of achievement within the NFB and
is not necessarily presented each year. Rather it is to be given only so
often as a member has earned it.

 

Charlie and Jacki were longtime residents of Arlington, Virginia. Both were
active in Kiwanis Club of Arlington, and both served terms as its President.
Charlie also served on the Virginia Community Integration Advisory
Commission for People with Disabilities (a.k.a. Virginia Olmstead
Commission), and was President of the Virginia Business Opportunities for
the Blind Inc. Charlie and Jacki were both active members of Rock Spring
Congregational Church in Arlington, where they held various leadership
positions. Charlie also served the wider Church as a member of the United
Church Board for Homeland Ministries, for which he served as Chair of its
Policy and Planning Committee.

 

Charlie and Jacki raised two sons Richard and Stephen. Richard lives in
Seattle, WA. Where he works as an ICANN specialist for Tucows, Inc. Stephen
and his wife Michelle, live in Winchester, VA. Stephen is a teacher and
coach with Fairfax County Public Schools. Stephen and Michelle are the
parents of their two granddaughters, Hailey and Kelsye Brown.

 

Services for Charles will be held at 2 PM on Saturday, August 14, 2021 at
Omps Funeral Home, 1600 Amherst St. Winchester, VA 22601 (540-662-6633). Due
to COVID restrictions, please RSVP: charlesbrownrsvp at gmail.com
<mailto:charlesbrownrsvp at gmail.com> .

 

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Charlie's memory may be made
to: The National Federation of the Blind of Virginia (NFBV.org/give), 3230
Grove Ave, Richmond, VA 23221 or the Chaplaincy Fund (SVWC.org/donate-now),
300 Westminster-Canterbury Dr, Winchester, VA 22603.

 

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