Dr. Henry Ward Brownell, Md

Newport, RI ? Dr. Henry Ward Brownell, 90, of 45 Kay Street Newport, a retired family physician, died Tuesday, February 22, 2005 at home.He was the husband of Sally Brewster Jones Brownell, to whom he had been married 62 years. Born in Newport, RI on January 19, 1915, he was the son of the late William Smith Brownell Jr. and Rebecca Stedman Ward Brownell. He was a 10th generation descendent of Thomas Brownell who settled in Portsmouth, RI, in 1639. Dr. Brownell graduated from Rogers High School in 1932 and from Rhode Island State College, now known as the University of Rhode Island, in 1936. He graduated from Tufts College Medical School in 1940 and completed his internship at Bridgeport Hospital in Bridgeport CT in 1941.He was licensed in Rhode Island that year and opened his practice at Dr. James B. Callahan?s office on Bull Street. Dr. Brownell established his own office in 1954 at 278 Broadway, where he treated generations of families until his retirement in December 1986 at the age of 72.He was a chief of medicine and president of the staff at Newport Hospital. He was a corporator of the Newport Health Care Corporation and a member and past president of the Newport County Medical Society. He was a member of the Rhode Island Medical Society and the American Medical Association, a former member of the Buckhout, Brooks, and Heffernan Medical Fund Committees, and a past delegate to the Rhode Island Medical Society.Dr. Brownell served as chairman of the Newport Chapter of the American Red Cross from 1954-55. He was a member of the committee on Public Laws and a past member of the Newport Board of Health. He was a corporator and former Trustee of the Board of Investment, as well as a vice president and chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Savings Bank of Newport, now known as BankNewport. He was a founding director and chairman of the board of the Newport County Trust Company.He was a member and past president of the Lions Club of Newport, and was the former director of the Mary Street YMCA and the Newport County Chamber of Commerce. He served as a member of the Representative Council of the City of Newport, now referred to as the Newport City Council, and was a member and former secretary of Rhode Island Draft Board No. 3.Dr. Brownell volunteered during World War II as an examining physician for the Selective Service System.He was a member of the Preservation Society of Newport County, the Newport Historical Society, Redwood Library and Hazards Beach. He also belonged to the Newport Taxpayers Association, the Rhode Island Genealogical Society, the National Genealogical Society, the General Society of Mayflower Descendants and Sons of the American Revolution. He was an associate member of the Naval War College Foundation. Besides his wife of 62 years he is survived by his daughter Rebecca W. Swisher of Lumberton, NC, four sons Bruce N. Brownell of Fitchburg, WI, Richard S. Brownell of Portsmouth, RI, William B. Brownell of Newport, RI, and Peter H. Brownell of Vienna, VA, eleven grandchildren and six great grandchildren.He was the father of the late Stephen B. Brownell and Henry W. Brownell Jr. and the brother of the late William S. Brownell III and the late Elizabeth S. Pare.Funeral service will be private.Donations may be made in his memory to the American Lung Association, 298 West Exchange Street, Providence, RI 02903, Newport Hospital Foundation, 11 Friendship Street, Newport, RI 02840, Visiting Nurse Services of Newport and Bristol Counties, Hospice Care of Newport County, 1184 East Main Road, Portsmouth, RI 02871 or to the Newport Fire Department Rescue Wagon Fund, 21 W. Marlborough Street, Newport, RI 02840.