LUMBERTON — Earnest “Ernie” Brown, a Lumberton physician for parts of four decades, is being remembered for his willingness to help others in his adopted hometown as well as around the globe.
The longtime Lumberton OBYGYN passed away Friday at the age of 88, leaving behind his wife Sue and four daughters.
“He taught me a lot of what I know about obstetrics,” said Dr. John Rozier, who was recruited to Lumberton by Brown. “He was an excellent physician and surgeon.”
Born in Raleigh, Brown grew up in Ivanhoe, and attended Oak Ridge Military Institute. He graduated from Davidson College in 1953 and attended medical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After his graduation in 1957, he completed his internship and residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology in Charleston, South Carolina.
After a brief practice with the Air Force in Minot, North Dakota, he practiced medicine in Lumberton from 1963 to 1998.
During his time in Lumberton he was responsible for recruiting several doctors, including Rozier, who has been practicing gynecology in Lumberton since 1975. Rozier met Brown in 1974 during his training in Charleston.
“He convinced me to come visit Lumberton and showed me the practice and the community,” Rozier said. “He just convinced me that this was a good place to come practice and he was right.”
The two became close over the years; Brown delivered both of Rozier’s sons and took them hunting and fishing often when they were older.
“He was a good friend,” Rozier said. “We will miss him.”
Rozier said if there’s any lesson he learned from Brown, it was “how to be a caring physician.”
Brown was an active member at First Presbyterian Church, where he served as an elder, deacon and committee chairman. The church’s pastor, the Rev. David Ruth, knew him for most of his life and developed an “utmost respect” for the dedicated member.
Ruth described Brown as “caring but direct” and “smart and compassionate, yet stern.”
“He was a great guy, but called it like he saw it,” Ruth said. “He didn’t pull any punches.”
After retirement, Brown used the church as a vehicle to help people in Third World countries.
“It was an extension of his medical expertise and his Christian love for others,” Ruth said.
Brown served as a medical missionary to Malawi, a country in East Africa; Haiti; Nicaragua; and Brazil through the church. He was as trustee for the Medical Benevolence Society of the Presbyterian Church USA and was the recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian honor given in North Carolina.
A project he was particularly passionate about was Project CURE — Commission on Urgent Relief and Equipment. From retirement until 2008, he collected and sorted donated medical supplies and equipment from manufacturers, hospitals and other surplus sources that were then distributed to local hospitals and clinics in underdeveloped countries.
While working on that project, fellow church member Jim Kirkland got to know Brown. Kirkland said they spent a lot of time together traveling to hospitals and picking up surplus equipment.
“You get to know someone riding around for six or eight years in a pickup truck,” Kirkland said.
What Kirkland learned about Brown is that despite his gruff exterior, he had a passion for helping people in need.
“He’s a big teddy bear,” Kirkland said. “He was very passionate about medical benevolence.”
When Brown was passionate about something he went full steam ahead, Kirkland said.
“He was just a great guy,” Kirkland said. “He was like a brother to me, and I’m sad that he passed.”
His obituary is on page 2A of today’s The Robesonian.
