BROWN, Edward Allen
Age 94, of Stow, MA, passed away on December 30,
2023, in the loving care of his family. He courageously lived with congestive heart failure and cancer, but true to spirit and with fierce determination, he retained as much independence as possible to do what he loved. The time his family spent with him these past few months is now a gift of memories for which they are profoundly grateful.
Born on August 31, 1929 to Albert and Julia (Hogan) Brown, Ed grew up in Salem, MA. A 1946 graduate of St. Mary’s High School in Lynn, he first attended Boston College and then the United States Military Academy at
West Point, NY, graduating in 1952. After graduation, he married Rosemary Carroll, also of Salem, MA, and they shared over 66 years of marriage until her passing in 2018.
Ed strived to live his life true to the pillars of values of West Point’s “Long Gray Line”; Duty, Honor, Country.
These values guided him as he faced challenges head on during his military and professional career. For valor and service in combat, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and a Purple Heart. After his return to the States, he served in the Army Reserves in Massachusetts and was honorably discharged in 1962.
He began his professional career with New England Electric System in 1955 and became the President of New England Power Service Company (a subsidiary of NEES Companies) in 1982. In 1984, he became Chairman and CEO of Yankee Atomic, and President, Chairman and CEO of
New Hampshire Yankee. During his tenure, he oversaw the construction and operations of several large projects, including Bear Swamp Hydro-electric plant, Brayton Point, Salem Harbor, and most notably, the construction completion and licensing of the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant. Completing Seabrook was both his greatest challenge and greatest accomplishment; taking it from bankruptcy to licensed operation.
Ed was an enthusiastic skier and cherished the serenity of Waterville Valley, NH. He was active in the Stow Lion’s Club for 22 years, he helped form, was elected to and served on the board of the Stow Municipal Electric Department. He was also a past board member of the Hudson Light & Power Department, Emerson Hospital and Mt. Auburn Hospital.
Ed was an avid reader of world and military history, math, engineering construction projects and recently rekindled his passion for the story of building the Panama Canal, which he visited in 2022.
He loved to tell stories about growing up in Salem, his time at
West Point, serving in Korea and his experience at Seabrook Station. Those close to him will forever remember how he never failed to refer to 345kV transmission lines as a “a thing of beauty” and his utter disdain for bureaucrats.
His daughter and family are profoundly grateful for their extended family, his friends, neighbors and
Barbie Wolfenden, all who made his life so rich after the passing of his wife. It was with their love and support that he learned there was much more life to live and helped him build a life that was vibrant and joyful.
Ed will be deeply missed and remembered by his daughter, Sharon Brown, her husband, Thomas J. Coughlin, Jr.; and his grandson,
Edward “Teddy” A. G. Coughlin. Ed also leaves behind his beloved cousin and childhood friend, Betty BrennanShea of Salem; and many special cousins and friends.
A Celebration of Ed’s Life will be held on Friday, January 12, 2024, at 10:30am, at the Acton Funeral
Home, followed by a Military Honors Ceremony at Brookside Cemetery in Stow, MA. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Tunnel to Towers Foundation, www.dogood.t2t.org