REMEMBERING DOUG BROWN

Traipsing through a grocery store in Europe may not sound like a vacation, but for Bangor grocer Doug Brown even a trip abroad was an opportunity to improve his local stores. That’s why generations of area residents referred to grocery shopping as simply a trip to Doug’s. Mr. Brown died Thursday at the age of 76.

Beyond his grocery stores, part of the Hannaford chain, Mr. Brown’s legacy includes a stable Husson College, an expanded Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems and a stronger Bangor Y.

Born on a farm in Lubec in 1929, Mr. Brown began work at the age of 5. When he was 14, he convinced the manager of a Red & White grocery store in South Portland, where his family then lived, to let him bag groceries. He told the man that he would work for free for the experience but received a paycheck at the end of the week. By the end of high school, Mr. Brown was managing the store when the owner was away.

After high school, Mr. Brown decided he would rather have a wife and job than go to college. He married Ana Brewer, who worked at the Red & White grocery store. The couple soon moved to Thomaston to manage a store there. The couple was told they could buy the store, a promise that was revoked when the store became highly profitable. For many years, Mr. Brown was as an executive at Hannaford Brothers but longed to work in the grocery aisles, not the corporate offices. With Hannaford as a partner, he opened the first Doug’s Shop ‘n Save at the corner of Third and Union streets in Bangor. Competing against national chains, the store was a success and others were soon built in Bangor, Brewer, Old Town, Bucksport and Ellsworth.

Mr. Brown brought the same determination and financial acumen to the many volunteer organizations he helped. At one time, he was the chairman of the board for five organizations. His leadership is credited with saving Husson College, which faced financial difficulties after building a new campus in the 1960s. The college assumed $10 million in federal debt, money it had trouble paying back when enrollment fell in the 1970s.

Facing foreclosure, Mr. Brown led an aggressive fundraising effort and worked with a bank to refinance the debt. He also convinced the Training and Development Corp. to locate a Job Corps facility on the campus thereby assuring a source of rental income for a decade before the facility moved. He also convinced Eastern Maine Medical Center to work with Husson to develop a nursing degree program, a relationship that continues today.

“I learned that he had the power and knew how to use it,” Husson President Bill Beardsley said. Mr. Brown led by example, he added, donating large sums of money to the fund drives he led.

A celebration of Mr. Brown’s life is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday at Columbia Street Baptist Church.