**Update from Katie 4/22: Shortly after this post was made, my sister Emily called to let me know that our dad has passed away. She was able to be there with him to hold his hand. Thank you to everyone for all your love and support.

Hello, my name is Katie Brown. My dad Steve has been with his partner Natalie for over 25 years. Her mother Rosemarie has been kind enough to write up this summary to help explain what has been going on with my dad. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this:

To all of our dearest family members and our many, many friends and acquaintances!! Our daughter Natalie has been with Steve Brown for many years and they have been totally inseparable. In so many ways he is her rock, her love, and her life partner, who has given her the strength, confidence, and resilience to press forward on so many occasions, and has always guided her in the right direction to pursue any endeavor that she so choose. He is her fiercest ally, champion, and cheerleader, and has believed in her abilities and always said, “You can do anything you want, Natalie, if you put your mind to it." As the parents of Natalie, this is so very difficult for my husband Myron and I to announce.

We have to sadly now give everyone the news of Steve’s very sudden diagnosis of cancer. He just learned on Easter Sunday April 5th after having a CAT scan due to some significant pain in his stomach that he had “cachexia” which is defined as a wasting syndrome of weight and skeletal muscle depletion, due to some type of cancer. The scan showed sclerotic metastasis and a lot of that showed up in his pelvic bones, lumbosacral spine, and right femur. Of course much more testing needed to be done and then on April 7th he had an endoscopy and biopsy. It appeared there was a mass on his esophagus. Late on the evening of April 8th he collapsed at home and was taken to Lahey in Burlington by ambulance. On April 10th he was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic esophageal cancer. It is quite advanced and it has metastasized throughout his body. He is not comfortable and is in some pain, obviously unable to eat, and the weight loss is quite significant. We have been trying to wrap our heads around this news and also trying to make sense of it.

All of this came as a total shock to us as we thought he was dealing with a severe case of acid reflux and GERD and was in the beginning stages of getting answers as to why he was having issues in that area. Right now he finds walking and keeping himself steady quite difficult, and of course he is always so tired. On April 16th still at Lahey in Burlington and with his daughters (Emily and Katie) and Natalie by his side, the decision was made to have Steve go to a hospice facility where he can be with and spend his final, days/weeks with the rest of his family and where all his loved ones will benefit from emotional and spiritual support. It will help by having his loved ones get the respite needed to recharge and spend more quality time with Steve reminiscing and preparing to say goodbye. It also reduces anxiety that comes with managing all kinds of care needs in a home environment.

As many of you know, Steve is quite the people person and once he got your ear it was difficult for him to let go. If you got a word in edgewise you were doing good. He has held many jobs over his 67 years…..soon to be 68 but firstly the non paying job that gave him the most joy and pleasure, and the one that meant the very most to him, and made him the proudest was being a dad and caring for his two beautiful daughters, Emily and Katie, who he adores and are his gift. He would always say, “I have the best two girls in the world and I’ll always be there for them.” Along with that he is so very happy to have become a first-time grandfather and being able to spend a lot of quality time with his one and only very, very, special grandson James who is 4 years old. James would call Steve “Papa,” and Steve was always so happy when the sleepovers were coming. There is nothing Steve wouldn’t do for him. The two of them had a bond like no other.

Steve's working jobs started in the culinary arts as he worked as a chef at restaurants such as Skipper's Galley and the Choate Bridge Pub. He also spent many years working for Classic Cooks Catering. His love of cooking lead to the creation of his famous beef stew which he often made in large batches to share with everyone. He did security work for well over 20 years at Eastern Point where he made so many friends who he is still connected with to this day. From there, and even up until last year, he spent many years doing security at the private end of Good Harbor Beach. He was well liked on the beach and couldn’t wait for the new season to begin. He loved catching up with the residents to find out how their winter went. The children there always made it special for him and he had a close connection with many of them. He was anticipating the new season and couldn’t wait to get started again this year. He also worked many years independently for Wingaersheek security and enjoyed the time there as well.

In light of Steve’s prognosis we hope that many of you will find it in your hearts and consider donating to this “Go Fund Me” drive as there will be many expenses now and over time which will need to be addressed.

Support is being requested to help ease the financial burden, including:

If you are able to donate any amount we would be eternally grateful. If you are not able to donate, we kindly ask that you please share Steve's story with as many people as you can. Thank you for your time and consideration while we navigate this emotional transition.