Stanley G. Brown of New Suffolk died July 19, 2026. He was 87 years old.
Born May 17, 1939, in Washington, D.C., he was the son of Ida R. (Branfman) and William A. Brown. He attended Sidwell Friends School and then Harvard University, earning a bachelor of arts in physics, magna cum laude, in 1960. He continued his education at the University of California, Berkeley, and then the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a Ph.D. in theoretical particle physics in 1966. For some years, he pursued an academic career, publishing 15 scholarly articles between 1967 and 1973 while holding postdoctoral positions at Cornell, MIT, UCLA and Stony Brook University. In 1974, he accepted a position with the American Physical Society as an editor of the journal Physical Review D, and subsequently Physical Review Letters. For many years, he served as editorial director at APS. After 33 years at APS, he retired from full-time work and continued editing on a part-time basis until 2016, when he fully retired. He married Margaret (Haapala) Feb. 28, 1970, in the chapel at her alma mater, College of the Pacific. They made their home on the North Fork and raised two children.
Throughout his life, he enjoyed jazz, musical theater and movies. He was also an early adopter of personal home computers and, in recent years, digitized his vinyl record collection so he could play it from his Mac or iPhone. He also followed current events closely and was involved in politics, canvassing for Eugene McCarthy in 1968, volunteering for Barack Obama and supporting many regional races.
He was predeceased by his daughter, Tracy Liorah Brown Gardiner, and his brother, Robert A. Brown. He is survived by his wife, Margaret; his son, Ethan Spencer Brown (Abigail Anthony) of Jamestown, Rhode Island; his son-in-law, Matthew Gardiner of North Kingstown, Rhode Island; and six grandchildren.
The family will receive friends Thursday, July 23, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck. In lieu of flowers, donations to East End Hospice or Eastern Long Island Hospital would be appreciated. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home.
