John F.X. Browne, P.E., will be remembered for his smile, wonderful wry humor and those very distinctive middle initials, associates of the longtime broadcast industry veteran said. Browne passed away on March 11 after a brief battle with cancer at his home in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. He was 75.
John F.X. Browne receives a Hall of Fame Award from Karole White, president and CEO of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters in 2006.
Browne was a long-time Professional Engineer based near the Detroit area and was actively engaged in the broadcast engineering field for over 45 years. He established the consulting firm of John F.X. Browne & Associates in 1966. His firm specialized in television allocations and applications, associates said.
“John was the consummate ‘Irish Gentleman,’ always gregarious and outgoing,” said Jack Sellmeyer, P.E., president of Sellmeyer Engineering.
Browne, designated as an expert radio engineer in hearings before the Federal Communications Commission, was very active in the Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers, Michigan Society of Professional Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, Society of Broadcast Engineers and Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers.
Browne in 2001 was selected as the second recipient of the prestigious Carl E. Lee Broadcast Engineering Excellence Award by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. He served as a board member for MAB and is a member of the MAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
The family will receive friends in the Vasu, Rodgers & Connell Chapel at A.J. Desmond & Sons Funeral Home, Royal Oak, Mich., Wednesday, 2–9 p.m. There will be a prayer service at 7 p.m.
A funeral Mass is scheduled for Thursday, starting at 11 a.m. at St. Hugo of the Hills Catholic Church in Bloomfield Hills. Visitation at church begins 10 a.m.
Memorial tributes may be made to the Missionary Sisters of Charity in Detroit, or Legionaries of Christ in Bloomfield Hills or the Ladies of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, Lake Angelus, Mich.