Cyrus Winthrop Brown II was born March 11, 1938, in West Hartford, Connecticut to Wallace Winthrop Brown and Helen Elizabeth van Dyck Brown. He was a precocious boy, and attended the Loomis Chaffee school before being accepted to Harvard and graduating in 1960.
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Cyrus was a First Lieutenant in the 44th Air Refueling Squadron during his time in the Air Force, and even after his tour of service, flew private planes in his leisure time.
He spent the bulk of his life in New York City, working as a private investment portfolio manager. He sang tenor with the Canterbury Choral Society and played bridge for the Harvard Club team.
He was an avid adventurer — skiing in Colorado during the winters and traveling to new destinations during the summers.
Well into his 60s and 70s, he traveled to Uganda to visit his daughter while she worked for Ngamba Island Chimpanzee Sanctuary. He traveled with his longtime partner Ruth to Hawai’i on multiple occasions.
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In 1994, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, a brain disorder that often leads to a shortened and limited life.
Cyrus did not let Parkinson’s slow him down. He researched tirelessly, testing new experimental treatments and therapies, and his doctors were consistently impressed by his tenacity, his vigor, and his longevity.
He loved storytelling, and he loved life.
He died peacefully in Salem, Oregon, with Ruth by his side, on January 26th, 2022.
Cyrus is survived by his partner, Ruth Cook, his daughter Laura Darby Singh and her husband, Adam Singh, and their two twin boys, Roran and Lír.