Msgr. Anthony M. Brown, who presided over Carroll College in the 1960s and the College of Great Falls in the ‘70s, served in parish ministry and at age 58 launched more than a decade of work as a mental-health counselor, died Nov. 3 at the Butte Care and Rehabilitation Center. He was 90.

The funeral Mass on Nov. 8 at Holy Family Catholic Church in Anaconda was celebrated by Bishop George Leo Thomas and concelebrated by Msgr. Joseph Harrington and Fathers Tom Haffey, Tim Moriarty and Gregory Burke. Burial at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Anaconda followed. Diocese of Helena priests were casket bearers.

Self-described as “Tony Brown, littleknown western educator,” Msgr. Brown held a number of honors, among them the 2002 University of Montana Distinguished Alumnus Award, the University of Notre Dame’s 1997 Outstanding Service and Teaching Award and an honorary degree from Carroll in 1979.

As the Carroll president from 1962-69, Msgr. Brown led the diocesan college through significant growth. Facilities expanded, he established the Office of Development and the Carroll College Foundation, and it was during his presidency that the first lay trustees joined the Carroll board. Enrollment topped 1,000 for the first time (in 1969) and financial aid swelled. While managing the growth, Msgr. Brown still found time to teach courses in education and Latin.

Citing the civil rights movement, Vatican II and assassinations of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King Jr., he told Carroll Magazine last year that the 1960s were “a difficult time to be a college president. I don’t think I could have picked a more troublesome time.”

From Carroll, he went to the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., for a year as administrative vice president. He became president of the College of Great Falls in 1971 and held that position for six years. He served on the Montana Board of Regents, which oversees the state system of higher education, from 1971-75.

He was in his 50s when he earned a master’s degree in counseling, adding to academic credentials that included a doctorate. In 1978, Msgr. Brown began 12 years of work as a mental-health counselor at what is now St. James Healthcare in Butte.

Over the years, he served Butte and Anaconda churches through his parish ministry. Other service included work as the Diocese of Helena school superintendent, from 1958-62, and as the Anaconda Central High School principal in 1950.

He was born on Sept. 22, 1920, in Butte and grew up in Anaconda. An infant when his father abandoned the family, Msgr. Brown was raised by his mother, Margaret, who worked as a janitor and maid to support her three sons. The eldest, Jack, died in childhood.

In the 2009 article published in Carroll Magazine, the monsignor said his mother consistently told her sons that “‘we’ll make it,’ and she always insisted on us getting an education.” The Salvation Army provided care for the boys while their mother worked, and as president of the College of Great Falls, Msgr. Brown led a fundraising drive to help the Salvation Army construct a building. In 1977, he received the Salvation Army’s Outstanding Community Service Award.

He joined the Brothers of the Holy Cross in 1938 and later studied at St. Edward Seminary in Kenmore, Wash. He was ordained in 1949. He held a bachelor’s degree from Notre Dame, two master’s degrees from St. Bonaventure University in New York and a doctorate from the University of Montana.

In addition to brother Jack, Msgr. Brown was preceded in death by his brother Father Patrick “Paddy” Brown. Survivors include cousins Dan Reardon and Terry Brown, and friends Mary Jo Leary and Margaret Smith.

Memorials may be sent to Carroll College, 1610 N. Benton Ave., Helena, MT 59601.


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 26, No. 11, November 19, 2010.