Brown – Paul Morton

Paul Morton Brown, 87, of Manhattan and Old Chatham NY, beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend passed away peacefully on February 11th holding the hand of his loving wife of 38 years, Ruth Shneider Brown. Paul is survived by Ruth, his devoted daughter Stephanie and son William (Cynthia), grandson Bradley Legg, niece Jessica Brown (Jeff Allmon and children Hudson and Miles) and nephew Anthony Brown. He was pre-deceased by his parents Irving and Rose (Kresge) and his brother William.

Born in Brooklyn on January 10, 1938, Paul attended Poly Prep where he made lifelong friends and excelled in sports, especially as a pitcher. Upon graduation, Paul was offered a minor league contract by the Dodgers, and opted instead to pursue his education, receiving a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School in 1959 and a J.D. from Columbia Law School in 1962.

While at Penn, Paul pitched for the baseball team and was a baseball camp counselor in the summer. Paul realized the wisdom of continuing his education when Willie Mays visited the camp and hit 2 monstrous blasts off his best fastball.

After serving in the army, Paul began his law career and became a distinguished corporate litigator as a Partner at Whitman & Ransom, Parson & Brown in which he was a founding partner, and after a firm merger at Satterlee Stephens, and then as Counsel at Duane Morris until his retirement in 2024. During his career he enjoyed numerous golf trips to the great American and European courses with colleagues and friends.

He married Helga Fisher Olsson in 1963 and raised their family in Closter, NJ where he was elected Borough Councilman and also served as Fire & Police Commissioner. Not surprisingly, he was also a Little League coach. He moved back to New York City after his divorce.

Paul was an avid Brooklyn Dodgers fan until they moved to Los Angeles when he transferred his allegiance to the Mets, even attending a Mets Dream Week in Port St. Lucie in 1989 where he pitched his last innings. He was also a devoted fan of the Rangers, Giants and Knicks.

He met his wife Ruth on Fire Island and they married in 1986. Soon after they purchased a home in Columbia County where Paul enjoyed golf, reading, chopping wood, and walking in the woods with his best pals—his Airedales, Charlie, Lucy, LuLu, and most recently, the ever-energetic "Hyper Piper." Among his reading were western novels which led to their purchase of a condominium in Santa Fe where he enjoyed golfing at high altitudes. He was a long-time member of the University Club, the Old Chatham Hunt Club and Columbia Golf and Country Club.

As a movie buff, Paul particularly enjoyed films by Mel Brooks and those starring Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart, and John Wayne. He was a great fan of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Broadway musicals, and he would sing show tunes to anyone who would listen (or not).

Paul will be remembered for his irreverent sense of humor, generosity, devotion to his family and the joy he brought to everyone who knew him. He will be profoundly missed.

Condolences may be conveyed at frenchblasl.com