Richard ‘Dick’ Metz Brown
Richard “Dick” Metz Brown, 85, died at Valley View in Belleville, on Jan. 10, 2026, surrounded by his family. He followed his wife of 62 years, Bea, who died six weeks earlier at Thanksgiving.
He said he was curious to know what the Creator had in store for him next, but hoped it included an ongoing view of the world he was leaving. He is survived by his children Andy, Christine and Cathleen along with his grandchildren, Porter, Nico, Bridget and Leo.
He’ll be remembered by all as a great storyteller.
Dick was born on May 2, 1940, to Marian Metz Brown and E. Porter Brown in Lewistown. He grew up in Big Valley on the family farm in Airydale with his three brothers, Bob, Fred and Tom. He attended the one-room school house there for six years and graduated from Huntingdon High School in 1958, then from Penn State in 1962, where he met his wife Beatrice Gilchrist. They were married in 1963 and worked as schoolteachers in New Jersey for a few years before returning to Pennsylvania.
They settled in Lititz to raise their three children. Dick taught science to 8th graders at Manheim Township Middle School in Lancaster County for 31 years. He was a committed environmentalist and conservationist, and served on the boards of the Lancaster Environmental Action Fund, the Lancaster County Conservancy and the Lancaster Farm Trust. Both he and Bea were active politically, and he ran for office twice, once for Congress and once for the Pennsylvania State House. Though he didn’t win, he always said it was a fascinating and valuable experience.
He was an avid traveler, outdoorsman, rock collector and birdwatcher. He and Bea retired to a log house in the woods near Mount Gretna, where the children and grandchildren would gather for holidays and visits. He continued to be active in conservation and politics and volunteered and worked for eight years at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area. He was a great proponent of putting up birdhouses for bluebirds, kestrels, owls and others, and of planting native meadows to promote biodiversity.
From the 1970s until his death he was a respected genealogist and family historian, gathering, compiling and sharing information and stories about the Metzes, Browns, Headings and other families with ties to Big Valley.
His ashes are being interred at Paxtang cemetery in Harrisburg. A memorial service for Bea and Dick is planned for May. Reach out to cathleenbrown143@gmail.com for more information, subject line, “Bea and Dick Brown memorial.”
Arrangements have been entrusted to King Funeral Home and Crematory, 47 Carriage House Lane, Reedsville.
In lieu of flowers, do something to make the world a better place and think of him. His motto may have been “Man is basically rotten,” but he also felt it was up to each of us to overcome our base instincts and do right by the world and our fellow human beings.
Online condolences can be shared at www.kingbarrfuneralhome.com.