Ray Kent Brown, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., a former chair of the Department of Biochemistry for the Wayne State University School of Medicine, died June 1, 2018. He was 94.
Dr. Brown served as chair of the department from 1963 to 1987, and retired as professor emeritus in 1996.
He received a bachelor's degree summa cum laude in 1944, a medical degree cum laude in 1947 and a master's of science degree in Physical Chemistry in 1948 from Ohio State University. After a one-year internship at Boston City Hospital, he began graduate work in the College of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, and was awarded a doctoral degree in 1951.
He conducted research at the National Institutes of Health from 1951 to 1953, when he became an assistant director of the Division of Laboratories and Research of the New York State Department of Health. He became associate director in 1959. During this interval, he had an appointment at Albany Medical College, becoming a full professor in 1961.
Dr. Brown became chair of Biochemistry at the Wayne State University School of Medicine, and served from 1963 to 1987. He especially enjoyed teaching medical and graduate students.
He served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1945, and the U.S. Public Health Service from 1951 to 1953. He was a founding member who served 28 years on the Highland Township Planning Commission. He was a member of several scientific societies and is listed in "Who's Who in America." He published 53 papers, chiefly on the proteins of blood.
He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Brown, Ph.D.; daughters, Kimberly Brown, Ph.D. and Kitene (Hume) Kading; son, Kevin (Pam) Brown; stepdaughters Debra (Scott) Sellers and Kathleen (Gary) Brooks; and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his first wife, Gertrude, in 1998.
A memorial service will be held at Lynch & Sons Funeral Home, 404 E. Liberty St., Milford, on June 5, at 11 a.m., with gathering beginning at 10:40 a.m.
Memorial contributions may be made in his name to a university of your choice.
For further information, call Lynch & Sons, Milford, at 248-684-6645.