Patricia Smith Brown, age 92, of Lexington, passed away peacefully at Lahey Hospital, surrounded by her family, on Saturday, May 26, 2018.

Pat was born Patricia Hickcox Smith on July 19, 1925, in Watertown, CT to Justin Smith and Octavia (Hickcox) Smith. She was one of four children—two sisters, Nancy and Octavia (Tavie), and one brother, Justin.

After graduating from Connecticut College in 1946 with a degree in botany, she worked as a research assistant at Yale University, Merck, and ultimately Harvard University, in Professor George Wald's lab. While working at Harvard, she met her future husband, Paul Kenneth Brown. They were married in 1955 and moved to Lexington the same year. Pat and Paul worked together, and travelled to Naples, Italy to do research shortly after marrying. She had wonderful memories of their time touring Europe after they finished their work in Naples—they especially loved the mountain villages of Switzerland.

Pat's son Jonathan was born in 1960, and her daughter Elizabeth was born in 1965. She raised both children in Lexington, where she helped to create a wonderful neighborhood environment for all the local children.

One of Pat's favorites places in the world was the family's lakeside cabin in New Hampshire. At the cabin, she infused everything she did with a sense of wonder and passion for the natural world—gathering wild berries, canoeing, bird watching, and swimming.

Later in life, Pat joined Follen Community Church in Lexington. She treasured the music and singing at Follen, and loved volunteering and participating in church activities, especially those that benefitted others.

Pat was preceded in death by her husband Paul and her sister Octavia (Smith) Cobb. She is survived by her sister Nancy Smith of Lakeville, CT, her brother Justin L. Smith of Boothbay Harbor, ME, her son Jonathan Brown of Concord, MA and his partner Julie Krakauer, her daughter Elizabeth (Brown) Dirks of Ashfield, MA and her husband Jason Dirks, and her four grandchildren, Noah, Sawyer, Ruby, and Turner. She will be missed by all.

Services will be held at Follen Community Church, 755 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA, on Monday, June 11, at 10 AM.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Douglass Funeral Home in Lexington.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Pat's name may be made to the Massachusetts Audubon Society, www.massaudubon.org . Interment Westview Cemetery, Lexington.