The family of Dr. John Brown unveiled a portrait of the late doctor during a dedication ceremony last week at Newberry County Memorial Hospital.
                                 Kelly Duncan photos | The Newberry Observer

The family of Dr. John Brown unveiled a portrait of the late doctor during a dedication ceremony last week at Newberry County Memorial Hospital.

Kelly Duncan photos | The Newberry Observer

<p>Dr. John Brown’s wife, Susandale Cauble Brown, stands next to her late husband’s portrait.</p>
                                 <p>Kelly Duncan photos | The Newberry Observer</p>

Dr. John Brown’s wife, Susandale Cauble Brown, stands next to her late husband’s portrait.

Kelly Duncan photos | The Newberry Observer

<p>From left to right, Brown’s children and wife, Jan Brown Jones, John Brown Jr., Anna Brown Applegate, Susandale Cauble Brown and Nora Beth Brown stand next to the portrait of Dr. John Brown that will hang in the halls of Newberry County Memorial Hospital.</p>
                                 <p>Kelly Duncan photos | The Newberry Observer</p>

From left to right, Brown’s children and wife, Jan Brown Jones, John Brown Jr., Anna Brown Applegate, Susandale Cauble Brown and Nora Beth Brown stand next to the portrait of Dr. John Brown that will hang in the halls of Newberry County Memorial Hospital.

Kelly Duncan photos | The Newberry Observer

NEWBERRY — The halls of Newberry County Memorial Hospital now have a new piece of art on display as the hospital unveiled and dedicated a portrait of the late Dr. John Brown last week.

Brown passed away in 2021 and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospital was unable to properly recognize and remember the years of service Brown gave in the community.

Called an exceptional practitioner by many, Brown was a graduate of Clemson University and Duke Medical School. In 1965, after serving in the United States Navy during the Cuban Crisis, Brown completed an internship at MUSC in Charleston where he was board certified in General Vascular and Thoracic Surgery.

Brown would join Palmetto Surgical Associates in Columbia in 1970 where, at the time, the business was the oldest general surgery practice in the state. While serving in this practice, Brown took on a four-month cardiovascular fellowship in 1982 at the Houston Heart Institute before taking on a leadership role in beginning the open heart program at Richland Memorial Hospital.

Newberry welcomed back Brown in 2001 when he began his private practice and later became an employee of Newberry County Memorial Hospital, during a time when no other surgeons were serving the community, where he would serve until 2018. Brown would later add training in wound care and hyperbaric medicine to the services he already offered to the community.

His selflessness and leadership continued in the community, providing free medical service to medical clinics in Columbia, Laurens and Newberry, participating in a medical mission to Haiti after a 2010 earthquake and being an active member of St. Andrews Lutheran Church.

Brown’s service was recognized in 2011 when he was awarded the Order of the Palmett0, the highest civilian honor in the state of South Carolina, by then Governor Nikki Haley.

“John loved his job in Columbia, but he was glad to come back to Newberry and to Newberry Hospital. The hospital was just so supportive of the care he wanted to give the community,” said Brown’s wife Susandale Cauble Brown.

Brown’s youngest daughter Anna Brown Applegate said meeting the people whose lives her dad touched has meant a lot to herself and her family.

“My dad wasn’t just my dad, he was a hero,” she said.

She added that as hospital staff and members of the community pass her father’s portrait, to always remember his laugh, wisdom and love he gave to everyone he met and pass that love on.

In addition to Brown’s family, staff and friends remembered a Brown as a classmate, a person who was known to crack a joke once in a while and someone whose memory will remain alive for years to come.

“I think there’s many, many stories that a lot of us can tell…Dr. Brown was many things to many people. He was a proud citizen of Newberry, he was quite comedic at times, but more than anything, he absolutely loved what he did. We loved that man just as much as she (Susandale) did. He was a teacher, a father figure and a phenomenal surgeon with a reputation that will hold here for a very long time and memory that we will continue to carry on,” said Corey Brown, surgery director at Newberry County Memorial Hospital.

Dr. John Thompson worked alongside Brown and like many, spoke on how much of an asset he was to the community, both personally and professionally.

“When I first came to Newberry in 1978, if we had a case that needed a surgeon that we could depend on and trust, it would usually be Dr. Brown… I thought a lot of him and still remember him often,” he said.

“We are certainly glad to have all of the family here along with the staff to celebrate the work and many years of service from Dr. Brown to this hospital and community,” said John Snow, NCMH Chief Executive Officer. “I didn’t know Dr. Brown, he served before I arrived, but his work has certainly set the stage for many individuals to come.”

Reach Kelly Duncan at 803-768-3122 ext. 1867 or kduncan@championcarolinas.com.