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IN MEMORIAM
ROBERT GRAVES BROWN
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My files show refills for human ills
Some from every medical book.
Computer memory data banks
At fingertips for ready look.
My grandfather's shop a century back
Had a similar stratified data bank:
Cigar boxes stacked upon the floor
Full of prescriptions, rank on rank.
Somewhere, the oldest apothecary
Working in the vast azure blue
Has all the answers for every ill
But few pray for them. Have you?*
— Robert Graves Brown
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Robert Graves Brown, associate professor emeritus
of pharmacology, died April 16, 2001, at age 81. He was born February
20, 1921, in McKinney, Texas. He was the son of Trammel Brown
and Onelia Perry Graves Brown. He graduated from Calumet High
School in Oklahoma in 1949. He started college at the University
of Oklahoma, but his education was interrupted by World War II.
He served as a medic in the Pacific Theater in Okinawa and Leyte,
receiving a field commission to lieutenant and a Bronze Star during
that time.
Bob Brown completed a BS in pharmacy in 1947 and an MS in 1949, both
from the University of Oklahoma. He earned a PhD in pharmacology from
the University of Texas Medical Branch in 1958. His teaching career started
while he was in graduate school and continued until his retirement in
1996. He had an outstanding commitment to his students, and he was an
engaging and entertaining lecturer, serving both in the College of Pharmacy
and the School of Nursing.
Bob loved words, poetry, puns, and painting. He was highly involved in
these activities during his career and after his retirement. His paintings
were featured in various art shows; one hangs in the College of Pharmacy,
his academic home for many years. His poetry has appeared widely, including
in anthologies published by the Lifetime Learning Institute, the Austin
Poetry Society, The University of Texas at Austin, the Thursday Poets,
and Counterpoint Publishing, and poetry journals in Canada and India.
He joined the Austin Poetry Society in 1985, serving as president for
five terms and as first vice president for seven terms. He was a lifetime
member of The Poetry Society of Texas. In 2000, he published a collection
of his work, "Poems from an Old Apothecary."
Following his retirement, Dr. Brown continued to teach at the University
and the Lifetime Learning Institute.
Dr. Brown and Kathryn, his late wife of 52 years, had two children, Sandy,
who lives in Dallas, and Robert Jr., who lives in Arkansas. Bob was brother
to Molly Rose, grandfather to Molly Kathleen and Jacob, and step-grandfather
to Sean and Kristi.
*From Old Apothecary, "Poems From An Old Apothecary," Robert Graves Brown,
Morgan Printing, Austin, Texas, 2000.
<signed>
Larry R. Faulkner, President
The University of Texas at Austin
<signed>
John R. Durbin, Secretary
The General Faculty
This memorial resolution was prepared by a special
committee consisting of Professors Alan B. Combs (chair), James
P. Kehrer, and James W. McGinity.
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