We Remember
BROWER, Jeffrey Louis
May 27, 1948 — August 6, 2022
On August 6, 2022, Jeffrey Louis Brower succumbed to cancer at Central Okanagan Hospice House in the loving arms of his wife. He was born May 27, 1948, in Detroit, Michigan to George E. Brower and Roberta Goodwin Brower. He married Annette Archambeau on March 20, 1976. After living in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Colorado, they immigrated to Kelowna, BC in 2005 and proudly became Canadian citizens in January 2012.
Jeff was known for his kindness, graciousness, gentleness, quick wit, brilliant mind and his unparalleled quest for knowledge. He was a brilliant scholar and lifelong learner. He was a true Renaissance man. Since age 12 he was a ham radio operator and developed an expertise in computers since the early 1980s. Although his undergraduate degree was in anthropology, and he was involved in excavations in the American Southwest, Kenya, the Belcher Islands and what is now Nunavut, he explored and excelled in many other pursuits including Coast Guard auxiliary, Colorado Search and Rescue, and emergency communications. He was a certified flight instructor. Jeff was a recognized amateur radio astronomer and gained an international reputation for his published and unpublished meteor and satellite studies. He was also passionate about genealogy. He and Annette loved international travel and exploring their new homeland. Conversations with Jeff were never dull! He was a very humble, private man and would be embarrassed about this tribute, but I am so very proud to be his wife.
After cremation, a private family remembrance was held at Springfield Funeral Home. At Jeff’s request, no funeral service will be held. A celebration of Jeff’s extraordinary life will be held in May 2023.
He is survived by his wife and life partner of 46 years, Annette. He is also survived by his brother, Doug (Cheryl) Brower and his brother-in-law, Tim (Deb) Archambeau; his Aunt Cleo (Malcolm) Radcliffe and Uncle Nolan Goodwin; as well as cousins, nephews, nieces, great-nephews, great-nieces, colleagues and friends world-wide.
Jeff will be interred at Kelowna Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Knowledge Network , Chamber Music Kelowna, or the Ronald J. And Carol I. Mason Fund for Excellence in Anthropology at Lawrence University.
If you wish to send a condolence, post photos, or share a memory, please scroll down the page to the area called “Condolences”.
Share with Others:
Knowledge Network, Chamber Music Kelowna, or Ronald J. And Carol I. Mason Fund for Excellence in Anthropology at Lawrence University Link: www.knowledge.ca, chambermusickelowna.ca, www.lawrence.edu/academics/college/anthropology/mason-fund-excellence-anthropology-grants
Condolences
Annette, You have been in my thoughts prayers since meeting you a few weeks ago at a BBQ at Hospice House. I felt your pain that day. It is clear that you and your husband had a loving bond and shared some memorable and happy times together.. My deepest condolences to you, your family and friends. Hugs, Sydney
Thank you, Sydney
Loved his ready chuckle.
Annette so sorry for your loss. Jeff was a kind and gentle soul. He is gone but he will never be forgotten. We love you both so much.
When Jeff and I were room mates at Michigan State University I always worried about Jeff flunking out. He changed majors almost every term, never studied and yet got straight A’s. Turns out my worries were unfounded.
Thanks Rick for providing a well-needed chuckle. Would love to finally meet you in person in May.
Fondly, Annette
I had the privilege to meet Jeff in 1983 via ham radio. What started out as a casual acquaintance turned out life long friendship. Jeff was more than my best friend he was part of my family. Jeff was the wise older brother I always admired Jeff’s intellect and his wit. Your passing has left a whole the can’t be filled but I take comfort in the memories that I have. I love you my friend and wherever your at I hope the bands are always opened.
Biff (Jeff) was one of my favorite people. He was one of my first cousins only weeks younger. He was very dear to me, and I will miss him terribly. We always enjoyed our visits.
We were so lucky to Jeff in our lives. He was so funny, warm, thoughtful and quietly, so intelligent. He was an honestly good guy. We will miss him and the joy he brought as a very good friend and he won’t be forgotten..
We were lucky to have Jeff in our lives. He was funny, warm , thoughtful and quietly so intelligent. He was an honestly good guy and we will miss him and the joy he brought as a very good friend and he will be missed.
Our sincere condolences. Such a sad news to hear that Jeffrey left us.
Annette, I was surprised to see Jeff’s obituary in the paper and terribly saddened. What a loss! I am so sorry. We met Jeff at dinner and know of his love of the stars and his sharp mind. I wish we had spent more time together. Our thoughts are with you and we wish you solace in this difficult time. Sending much love your way.
I send my deepest condolences to Dr Brower and your family at this sad time. I am sorry for your loss.
Thank you, Joanne! Fondly, Annette
We are really very sad about Jeff’s leave and send our deep condolence to Annette and family. We always admired the encyclopedic scope of his interests and his intelligence, as well as his kindness and thoughtfulness.
We are very sorry for your loss, Annette.
Much love and hugs.
Jeff will be greatly missed by friends and relatives. He was my cousin from his Dad’s side of the family. Jeff had that wonderful quiet wit that his Dad possessed. Behind all of it was a highly intelligent and warm gentle spirit. Now he goes beyond time and space and is given in LOVE to the universe.
Jeff; our favourite guy. We love you and we’ll miss you every day.
Annette
Ross and I were saddened to hear of you loss. We never met Jeff but we know he must have been a marvellous individual. We love Ed but still miss our visits with you!
May his memory always be for a blessing.
Ed Schneider and Ross Arnot 💔
Thank you Ed and Ross! How kind of you to think of me!
Sincere Condolences.
It was my privilege to be of assistance to Jeff during his treatments, and our visits were always enlightening..
May he RIP and Annette may you find comfort in the memories and life long love you shared .We will stay in touch .
Jeff was my very best childhood friend. We went to the same elementary school, studied Morse Code together with a Junior High School counselor, passed our ham radio licensing exam together, and shared our discoveries our our newfound ham radio hobby. He was, without a doubt, a very kind, loyal and generous person. I wish we had not lost contact during our adult years for so long.
We are so blessed that we meet Jeff and Annette on a cruise and became cruising friends. We laughed and truly enjoyed each others company. We will miss Jeff very much and cherish the time we had together.
We are so sad to lose our dear friend Jeff. We will miss him so much and cherish the time we spent together, Here is a picture of Jeff and Annette when they visited us in Colorado in 2019.
Dear Dr Brower,
My heart goes out to you. I am so very sorry that you lost your soul mate. Hugs Susan
Thank you Susan. How kind to think of me!
The world needs more fine men like Jeff. Annette, when you are ready, bring your violin and let your “Angel”. friends and the music help you heal from this terribly sad left turn in your life. Much love.
Annette,
After hearing of Jeff’s passing, I sat out on our patio, watching the stars and the moon and the occasional meteor, tears in my eyes, a glass of my favourite whisky in my hand. After a time, in the silence, a train of several dozens of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites passed overhead in the darkness, each quickly in turn catching a glint of sunlight which reflected down to me. I imagined that each glint represented the joy that Jeff had brought to each of the people he’d met in his lifetime. I thought about Jeff and how our interests had been so similar, how closely we were aligned, despite the great distance between us. To Jeff, I raise my glass! You will always be in our hearts. To Annette, we send all our love.
Andy, Dongni & Joanna.
When I was a teenager I was a little in awe of my cousin Jeff. He was a few years older and he went off to college and did brave things. Flying gliders, doing archaeology in the Canadian Arctic! To the rest of us driving significantly over the speed limit probably felt brave.
When our families spent time together Jeff was always friendly and kind to his younger, slightly goofy cousins. I can’t actually picture young Jeff without a friendly smile. That’s the way I’ll remember him.
In 2016, I reconnected via email with Jeff because of our shared interest in geneaology and I am so glad I did. His emails were such fun and his life so interesting. He was in BC and I was in Chicago but our emails felt like conversations. I will treasure every word he wrote me.
I never knew the young Jeff in these photos, but the older Jeff that I got to know as an adult, I am certain, was just as cool. He was so kind and told the BEST stories. The laughing and joy that would radiate out of a room with you two is something I will never forget. I had no idea you two had been married for 45 years! That is truly amazing to have such a perfect partner in life. I am so sorry for this early loss of Jeff, and like others, will continue to think of him every time the sky turns dark. He will be forever missed. My deepest sympathies.
Photo taken by my father, Rick Harwood.
too soon, too soon — another good man gone. . . . .
I could always connect with Jeff even when it had been several years with only Christmas cards as our contact. He would join in whichever activity was suggested, be it a hike plagued by mosquitoes or an embarrassing board game. He would listen to whatever subject was broached and then quietly offer insights that escaped me. He could gently correct my ignorance without betraying any trace of surprise. He was a wonderful teacher.
To my friend scientist Jeff, and Janette who encouraged his interests. We had fun in discovering together the truth of the physical world.
Chris
Annette – Jerry and I were just talking about you and Jeff and I decided to look for you on the internet. I found Jeff’s notice. We have such very fond memories of you and our time in Greeley. Our deepest sympathies to you.
Thanks so much for your sympathies and thinking of me, Jerry and Deb. Jeff and I often have reminisced about our time together in Greeley. Would love to get in touch with you! Thanks again.
Dear Annette I am so sorry for your loss of Jeff. It took a while for the news to reach me. I’m one of Jeff’s ham friends from about 1989 in St.Paul, Mn. We were on ham tv a lot in those days. I missed him when you moved west. I also moved from the Twin Cities in 1996 back to my hometown in Ellsworth WI. I will always remember Jeff’s smile and I can still hear his voice. I Will remember you in my prayers.
Ron Hines
Dear Ron, Thank you so much for your condolences. Jeff so enjoyed your ham TV communications from our basement in St Paul while I was in residency! I am so happy that you remember his wonderful smile and can hear his voice. Thanks again for sharing your memories of Jeff and thinking of me, Ron! Annette
Dear Annette!
On this special day, we’d like to say a few words about our acquaintance with Jeff.
We got to know each other at a meteor conference on La Palms. We met Jeff and Annette only once, but felt as though we’ known each other for a quite long time. They were so gentle and kind, and sociable! It appeared , we had lots of common interests and many things to discuss. For instance, Jeff and Andrey talked much on space body watching and other relevant things. In fact, we had a wonderful time together, and it was never dull!
But time flew, and we had to part. It was sad, as we were aware that we probably would never see each other again. But afterwards, we kept in touch and and exchanged letters, which were so warm and lively. Jeff shared news of their life and impressions of trips they were so fond of. The letters were really very special and we enjoyed getting them. Besides, Andrey and Jeff shared meteor observation results and references to scientific materials on the topic. This experience was very useful and informative.
Also very interesting were their letters about their trips around the world, with lots of impressions and pictures! So, though they lived overseas, we still regarded them as our special friends.
It is too bad Jeff is not with us anymore, yet we’ll keep the memories of him in our hearts.