Browne, Allen Gray

Allen Gray Browne passed away April 23, 2010, in Las 
Vegas. He was born in Los Angeles, Sept. 25, 1928, to 
Dr. Francis E. Browne, famously known as the surgeon 
to the stars, and Margaret Gray Browne of the Gray 
banking and farming family from Grayville, Ill. Browne 
was educated at Hotchkiss Preparatory School in 
Connecticut and Santa Clara University. He did 
graduate work at UCLA Medical School. Browne had a 
varied career including investments and stocks, oil 
drilling, land development, hands-on custom house 
building and farming. After active duty in the U.S. 
Army, he served in undercover military intelligence 
for years. His lifelong passion for music led him to 
donate the organ for The Shrine of the Most Holy 
Redeemer in Las Vegas. His family helped found 
Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, Calif., where 
he gave the organ for their new college chapel last 
year. He was an active trustee of the Nevada 
Symphony in Las Vegas, single-handedly producing 
their concert in March 1996. Browne was also an 
enthusiastic amateur violinist. An avid sailor and skier, 
he traveled the world as a big game hunter. His 
trophies are in several schools and museums, 
including the Las Vegas Natural History Museum. He is 
survived by his wife, of 24 years, Kay Miller Browne; 
brother, Dr. Lawrence W. Browne of Newport Beach, 
Calif.; five children, Frank Browne, Julia Browne, 
Margaret Browne Day (Jeff), Alice Browne and Bill 
Browne, and their mother, Shirley Ingman Browne, all 
of Orange County, Calif.; and two stepchildren, 
Elizabeth Stephenson Norheim (Rob) of Seattle, and 
Lloyd Stephenson of Chico, Calif. His grandchildren 
include Joshua Browne, Megane Browne, Riley and 
Tatum Browne, Aubrie, Kelsey and Jessica Day, and 
Rosemary Norheim. Allen was a Fourth Degree Knight 
of Columbus. A funeral Mass will take place Monday, 
May 3, at the Holy Angels Catholic Church in New 
Harmony, Ind., followed by burial at the Gray Family 
Cemetery in Grayville, Ill. A memorial celebration will 
be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 22, at the Spanish 
Trail Country Club, 5050 Spanish Trail Lane, in Las 
Vegas; inquiries to (702) 451-6113. Donations can be 
sent to Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, 1501 
Las Vegas Blvd. N., Las Vegas, NV 89101, (702) 385-
2662.

Published in Las Vegas Review-Journal on April 30, 
2010