Dr. Louis DeLoach Browning
Dr. Louis DeLoach Browning passed away peacefully on February 4, 2022, with the family he loved holding his hands, in the home he had lived in for most of his life. He was within days of his 98th birthday when he succumbed to pancreatic cancer.
Lou was born on Feb 6, 1924 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, to Jamie Arnold and Louis DeLoach. He enjoyed his childhood in Kentucky, where by all accounts he was both fun-loving and a menace to his adoring sisters, Jamie Arnold, Kathleen, and Willie Steele. He worked at his father’s denim work-clothes factory, Elk Brand Manufacturing, and spent a great deal of time on the family farm, honing his target shooting skills.
After a year at the University of Kentucky, Lou volunteered into the US Army, and did basic training at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. Once enrolled in the Army specialized training program, Lou attended City College in NYC as a premed student. Lou went on to Harvard Medical School where he received his MD in 1949; he did his residency at the Peter Bent Brigham hospital in Boston. In 1951 Lou enlisted to serve during the Korean war; he was a Captain in the Air Force. He was sent to Morocco, to be a doctor at the base in Casablanca. There he met Jacqueline Benarrosh, who was working on the base as a translator. They were married in Casablanca in April 1953.
Upon returning to the U.S. Lou did a residency rotation in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, where their first daughter, Dominique was born. Lou and Jacqueline moved to Englewood Cliffs NJ, where their daughter Nicole was born. Lou served at the VA Hospital in New York City, where he developed a lifelong interest in vascular surgery. The family then moved to Stamford Connecticut, where Lou wanted to open a “small-town practice.” Their daughter Michele and then their son, Philippe, were both born in Stamford.
For almost 40 years, Lou served the Stamford community, working at both the Stamford and the St Joseph Hospitals, where he became the Chief of Surgery. Lou performed thousands of operations, and he was deeply loved and respected by patients, nurses and his doctor colleagues. His children recall his frequently being stopped by people to thank him for saving their or their loved one’s lives. He trained countless others who remember him as a kind, wonderful teacher, and gifted surgeon. He was a gracious and modest person, who wore his accomplishments lightly.
After retiring in his early seventies, Lou focused on family - his children, grandchildren and great grandchild. He pursued many hobbies that brought him delight. He was an avid reader, gardener, traveler, sailor, and trap and skeet enthusiast. He was an expert marksman, and reveled in championships well into his eighties. After he put his gun down, Lou lunched regularly with his “shooting buddies,” and his doctor friends. He enjoyed concerts in NYC with Jacqueline. Lou lived with engagement and curiosity, and remained a lively story-teller, reminiscing, joking and singing silly songs. Lou will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in his honor to Doctors Without Borders, https://www.msf. org or to Stamford Heath’s Bennett Cancer Center, https://www.stamfordhospitalfoundation.org/foundation/ways-to-give/ . Please visit leopgallagherstamford. com for additional Information about a virtual memorial service.