Obit: Windsor Star columnist Lloyd Brown-John ‘connoisseur of life’

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C. Lloyd Brown-John, May 3, 1940 — Feb. 24, 2025

Two decades after reluctantly retiring as a University of Windsor professor, Lloyd Brown-John remained a generous teacher and mentor and lived life to the fullest — even approaching age 85, he was still fiercely curious, learning and exploring, and still engaged and broadly active in the local community.

“It is hard to capture the essence of Lloyd Brown-John in just a few words,” Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens told the Star.

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“His candor, his advice, his wisdom, his humour, and his down-to-earth, common-sense approach to life — the community has lost one of its brightest minds and most passionate advocates.”

For years, and up until mid-February, Brown-John tackled a wide range of topics in his weekly Windsor Star opinion columns, always written with a local viewpoint. He did not shy away from delving into the most sensitive of subjects and using his academic and historical chops to provide deeper context and broader perspective. Sometimes he made it personal.

Like all good columnists, he attracted fans and foes.

“It was sometimes a challenge, but he so enjoyed doing his columns,” said Marilyn, his wife of 62 years.

The couple moved to Essex County in 1968, with Brown-John taking a position at UWindsor’s political science department. At the time, he’d been working for Canada’s external affairs department, but Marilyn said they decided a diplomatic career in the foreign service wasn’t the best way to raise a family.

Following a period of illness, Brown-John died on Feb. 24 from an undiagnosed heart condition. He is also survived by two daughters and their families, including six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

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Another “love of his life,” according to Marilyn, was Canterbury ElderCollege, which Lloyd founded in 2011 to provide lifelong learning opportunities for adults age 55 and over.

Dozens of educational courses, led by volunteer experts and offered at moderate cost, are now presented across Windsor and Essex County each spring and fall.

“It’s learning for the joy of learning — Lloyd’s motto was: ‘If it t’ain’t fun then it’s probably not worth doin’,’” said program manager Catherine Fettes, ElderCollege’s only paid employee. She said tributes have been pouring in from the types of subject experts and influential figures Brown-John would corral into giving lectures.

“It was because of him, they said, that they are continuing to share their knowledge — they’re grateful to him for encouraging them,” said Fettes.

That legacy will continue, according to a statement sent out to the ElderCollege community: “While we’re heartbroken, we also know the best way to honour Lloyd is carry on the work he loved so much.”

Brown-John himself would typically host several courses each semester — everything from classes on how governments work and understanding politics at all levels, to how to research family history, Spanish Flu and aircraft disasters.

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“His favourite was the armchair travel — taking people through the trips he took all over the world,” said Fettes. He would also lead bus trips to local historical sites or to special local restaurants and on wine tasting tours.

“Lloyd was a connoisseur of life and all the wonderful things it entailed,” Leamington Mayor and Essex County Warden Hilda MacDonald wrote on a growing online  ‘tribute wall‘ in Brown-John’s memory set up by Reid Funeral Home.

Marilyn said Friday that Lloyd did not want a funeral. Cremation has taken place and a private family gathering is being organized for a later date.

“Lloyd’s voice has been silenced, but the legacy he leaves, and the difference he has made in the lives of his former students, including mine, will live on for generations to come,” said Dilkens, for whom Brown-John, as a professor emeritus, was PhD advisor.

“He was a beloved husband, father and grandfather, a teacher, mentor, thought-provoking political writer and commentator, and someone I had the honour to call my friend,” said Dilkens.

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Brown-John retired from UWindsor in 2005, just before mandatory retirement was abolished. Marilyn said her husband didn’t want to retire but soon filled his life with many activities, particularly travel. The couple once spent a 16-month sabbatical voyaging “literally around the world,” she said.

Brown-John was involved in countless academic and research institutions and organizations. He was the long-time president of Friends of Point Pelee and a fundraiser for Leamington’s arts centre.

For years before he wrote a regular Windsor Star column, Brown-John was a commentator on local politics for the CBC and other media, and he was an election night regular, feeding independent expert analysis to news reporters.

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