The Arlington Libraries Foundation is honored to receive a donation of ALF branded notepads in memory of Mason Phillip Smith and Irene L. Brown, PhD. The donation was given in memory of these two lifelong friends of board member J.B. Maxwell and wife Valerie, who have supported and championed the Foundation for many years. The friends met through their respective printing companies and created an enduring friendship. This generous contribution will help the Arlington Libraries Foundation in our community outreach and further the important work of our organization.
Mason Philip Smith, passed away November 25, 2016, he was 83. He was born in Portland, Maine in 1933. He graduated from Needham (MA) High School, served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in Photojournalism. Mason married Barbara Darrah in November 1960, settled in Portland, and opened his photography business in 1983.
Mason was one of the top portrait and commercial photographers in Maine and New England for more than 30 years and produced a wide variety of photographs: portraits, weddings and the first color photos for the L.L. Bean catalog. Mason embraced digital photography, computers, and social media. He never stopped learning and carried a camera with him every day. He also owned and operated The Provincial Press, which is where he met board member J.B. Maxwell. His wife, Barbara was Head Librarian for the Portland Public Library for many years and, subsequently, Head Librarian for the University of Southern Maine before retirement.
Irene L. Brown PhD passed away November 14, 2019, she was 87. Irene was born in St. Joseph, Missouri in 1932 and moved to Los Gatos, California when she was 16. She graduated from Los Gatos High School and subsequently received her BS and MS in Biology from San Jose State University where she met Robert Brown who she married in 1955. She received her PhD in Biology from Stanford in 1971. Irene touched the lives of many in the community and inspired generations of colleagues and students with her scientific knowledge, scrupulous writing and editing, quick wit, warm heart and joy in spending time outdoors.
The bedrock of Irene’s life and work was Bob, her husband of 64 years. Together they ran Benchmark Publications, writing, editing, and managing “The Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette”, a magazine of international circulation considered the best in its subject.