J. Brown Goehring passed away at age 88 on March 7, 2024, after a long battle with dementia.
Brown was born in the Pittsburgh, Pa., area to J. Lindsay and Dorothy B. Goehring. His family moved to Florida when he was 10. He was valedictorian of the Class of 1956 at Davidson College. He received his PhD in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he met his wife of 60 years, Ouida.
Brown joined the faculty of the chemistry department of Washington and Lee University in 1963 and taught inorganic chemistry there for 38 years. He was the secretary/treasurer of the Washington and Lee chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for 22 years.
In his spare time, Brown was an avid musician, photographer, and stamp aficionado. As a high school senior, he wrote the music for an operetta, “Isadora,” with lyricist Richard Meeth, which was performed at Clearwater High School. He was a frequent accompanist for Lexington area drama programs, the Lexington Presbyterian Church Sunday school and area assisted living events. He used his photography skills to create homemade movies and slides for department colloquiums, experimenting with various special effects.
Brown is survived by his daughter Patricia Goehring, his son Alexander (Denise) Goehring, his daughter Dorothy (Sunil Somalwar), and his three grandchildren, Audrey, Jean, and Anne.
The funeral will be held at Harrison Funeral Home on March 23 at 2 p.m. The graveside service will be private for the family.