Obituary of Norman L. Brown

NORMAN L. BROWN 1915-2009 Norman L. Brown, longtime arbitrator with the Illinois Industrial Commission and former Chairman and Acting Commissioner died of heart failure on November 19. He was 94 years old and a life-long resident of the Chicago area until three years ago, when he moved to Albany, New York to be closer to his daughter. He was born in Chicago on April 7, 1915, to immigrant parents from Ukraine and Lithuania. He graduated from Crane Technical High School and received his B.A. degree from Central Y College, which later became Roosevelt University. He later earned a Masters degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Loyola University. During the 1930s, he worked for a number of WPA projects, including the Illinois Occupational Survey, the WPA Area Statistical Office, and the WPA Workers' Education Program; he also helped to organize a local branch of the United Federal Workers of American, CIO. During the war he worked for the War Labor Board as a regional Chief of the Research and Statistics Section and then for the National Labor Bureau analyzing wage statistics for labor unions. After the war he and a friend opened Union Buying Service, a store that gave discounts to union members. By the late 1950s, with the growth of large discount stores, the business folded and he returned to doing statistical research, first with Social Research Incorporated and later for the Jewish Vocational Service. In 1973 he took a position with the Illinois Industrial Commission and remained there until his retirement in 1999 at the age of 84. He was predeceased by his beloved wife Esther, to whom he was married for nearly 69 years and is survived by his children Iris Berger [Ronald] of Delmar and Arnie Brown [Dorrit] of Møgeltønder, Denmark; his granddaughters Allison, Anna, Cindy, and Suzy, and his great-grandson Leo. The memorial will take place in Chicago. Contributions in his honor may be made to the Community Hospice of Albany County, 445 Karner Road, Albany, NY 12205.