Obituary for Dr. Deborah Washington Brown

On Friday, June 5, 2020, Dr. Deborah “Debbie” Washington Brown, passed away peacefully surrounded by family after a valiant 16-month battle against pancreatic cancer. Debbie and her twin brother Melvin were born on June 3, 1952 in Washington, D.C. to Edwin and Lola Washington. On May 26, 1979 she married her college sweet-heart, Ruel “Rula” Brown and went on to have two daughters and 41 years of marriage. Debbie was a soft-spoken girl, with thick-rimmed glasses and a warm smile. But behind her easy going nature was an exceptional mathematical and musical genius — when she was a little girl on road trips with her family, her uncle would designate her his human calculator with the ever important task of calculating gas mileage to minimize costs. Ultimately, it was because of that intellect that she was able to capsize the racial and gender barriers of the times. Much like the keys on her favorite instrument, the world in those days had strict divisions between black and white. When she was accepted into the renowned New England Conservatory (NEC) in 1970 to pursue her dream of becoming a classical pianist, a teacher told her they…

“…couldn’t expect much from her, especially considering that her father was a taxi cab driver.” She’d prove them wrong.

She dropped out of NEC, transferred to Lowell Tech, and upon graduation applied to Harvard University’s graduate program in computer science/applied mathematics.  She did not fit the formula for admission.  She was black.  She was a woman.  And she had not attended a pedigree school. But as her admissions advisor recalls, “she had the perfect transcript, exquisitely neat handwriting, and over-the-top letters of support.” She was admitted.

And in 1981 Deborah Blanche Washington Brown became the first African-American to earn a PhD in Computer Science/Applied Math from Harvard University, graduating at the top of her class.

Post-grad school she went onto work for powerhouse companies such as Norden Systems, Bell Labs, AT&T, and Verizon designing missile defense technology, artificial intelligence/speech recognition software,  and holding several international patents.

But she was quiet and understated, and never touted those achievements. When asked by her youngest daughter about the one thing she would do if she knew she’d never fail, her response was “tour the world playing Rachmaninoff.” And in fact she did just that. Classical music was her passion. Her hands could race across the keys as if she had 88 fingers rather than just 10.  Her talent brought her to concert halls in Italy, Germany, and Carnegie Hall in New York City, winning local and international competitions along the way.

Debbie was a hidden figure…

a piano virtuoso, inventor, and computer scientist.  But without a doubt her most treasured title was “mommy”.  Her spirit was joyful.  Her smile was a centerpiece.  Her love was boundless.

She was preceded in death by her father, Edwin Sr., her mother, Lola, and her brother Edwin Jr. She is survived by her husband Ruel, sister Betty, twin brother and sister-in-law Melvin and Debra, her two daughters, Laurel and Latoya, numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins who considered her like a sister, and her two birds Muse and Chaos.