Helen Brown's Obituary
Helen Brown passed away on April 12th, 2020. She died as a result of complications from a stroke suffered in 2012 followed by long-term care.
Helen was born in 1947 in Sydney, Australia, and grew up in Spring Lake, Michigan. She attended The University of Michigan School of Music (BM’69; MM’70) and taught at Muskegon Community College, Clarion State College, and University of Toledo before beginning her doctoral studies at The Ohio State. After finishing her PhD, she taught music theory at Purdue University for twenty-six years from 1986 to 2012, becoming Associate Professor of Music in the Division of Music in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts. Many of Professor Brown’s students were not traditional music majors, but engineers, scientists, and liberal arts students. They found in her a rare blend of keen assessment and critique and genuine kindness and concern for their welfare.
Helen is survived by her sister, Melissa C. Brown, a practicing attorney in Holland, Michigan, brother-in-law, Edward J. Baum, and nephew, Iain D. Pedden (children, Grace, Jackson, and Josephine Pedden). A family gathering is planned for a later date. Condolences may be sent to melissacbrown1@gmail.com.
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