The Lake Forest Lighthouse: In Memory of Jim Brown

Hi! My name is Kelly Brown, and my sister, Katie, and I are third-generation members of Lake Forest, a small lake community located on the north shore of Lake Hopatcong.

 

From the day Katie and I joined the Lake Forest Swim Team, our dad, Jim Brown, was the ultimate swim dad. He attended every swim meet, volunteering as a timer or as an announcer, and before the start of every season, he ensured the swim dock and lanes were maintained and ready for use.

 

One year, he even won the “Mr. Yell” award at the end of the season to honor his noteworthy and boisterous cheers for every kid who entered the water. Basically, our dad was a dad who loved his kids, who loved to swim.

 

 

A few years after Katie and I swam our last races for the Lake Forest swim team, our lives changed forever when our fun-loving dad succumbed to his mental illness and took his own life. To say this rocked our universe is an understatement.

 

I was unsure if my family would ever recover from the overwhelming emotions that we were enduring in the first few weeks following his death. It seemed like nothing would ease the heavy weight of grief. When I look back on that time now, I can see clearly that what helped to guide us through that raging storm was the love and light bestowed upon us by the community around us.

 

Individuals who knew our dad as a friend, neighbor, and fellow volunteer, pitched in to help our family in any way possible. The outpour of support we received from the Lake Forest and Lake Hopatcong community truly demonstrated the immense healing power that kindness can yield.

 

Katie and I are starting this fundraiser along with the help and support of our dad’s closest friend, and fellow Lake Forest member, Frank Gutowski, in an effort to erect a lighthouse in Jim Brown’s name at the end of the Lake Forest swim team jetty.

 

 

 

The “Jim Brown Memorial Fund” is funding a substantial portion of this project. The Lake Forest Yacht Club Trustee Board supports this project and has also contributed a portion of the funds to have this lighthouse built. We are asking for donations to help fully fund the lighthouse, the concrete base, and the electrical requirements.

 

In the simplest of ways, this beacon will serve as a point of interest for all of Lake Hopatcong. It will also be an honor to Jim Brown’s memory and represent the everlasting light that the power of community can have in the darkest of times.

 

Please help us in making this project a reality and built on time for the planned dedication ceremony on Saturday, September 3rd, 2022.

 

We sincerely thank you for any and all support.