Charles Wagner Brown

He was born May 10, 1946, in Warren, Pa., the eldest son of the late Archie and Dorothy Wagner Brown. Following graduation from Warren Area High School, he attended Penn State University and later earned his PhD. in social anthropology at Lund University, Lund, Sweden. Charles continued his research in India with fellow researcher, Dr. M.P. Joshi, and conducted online teaching of students from Nepal and the Uttar Pradesh area of India. In 2016 his book, Did Tiger Take the Rain? was published by Green Mountain Press. The book is now an Open Source book through Prathem Books of India on the Story Weaver platform and is available online in seven languages which Prathem distributes to children in need of books. It is also available at Warren Public Library.

In his retirement, Charles pursued his love of watercolor painting as well as ink wash and oils with his work appearing in several New England galleries. The artists’ cooperative at the Canal Street Art Gallery where he lived and had his art studio was a great inspiration to him. At the time of his death he was working on the illustrations and text of Thunder Basin, a graphic novel for children and young adults set near Mt. Mansfield, Vt.

Charles is survived by his daughter, Saskia Wildung; her mother, Jane Wildung; son-in-law, Christer Persson; grandsons: Emanuel, Oliver and Emil Wildung; brother, Dennis Brown (Jane); sisters: Arleigh Reynolds and Christine Raleigh (Tom). His nieces and nephews include: Marilyn Brown, Kathryn Gaudreau, Jared and Elisha Brown, Heather Trask, Sonya Furman, Carla Latham, Carrie Loney, and Thomas Raleigh.

In addition to his parents, Charles was preceded in death by his brother, Leonard; his nephew, Dustin Brown; and by his maternal grandfather, Charles Wagner, a former Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at Penn State University after whom he was named.

A tribute to Charles by friends and family was held Oct. 30, 2022, at the Canal Street Art Gallery in Bellows Falls, Vt., and a celebration of his life will be held in the near future. Charles will forever be loved and missed by his family and many friends.