Wayne Brown was a complex man, a father from a young age, a former teacher who saw the best in people, and a community organizer who loved to go out for a good lunch.
An introvert with a wide circle of friends.
A loving partner who liked to make the best of his informal position at Liaison College of Culinary Arts by inviting his many friends to gourmet lunches prepared by the student-chefs.
Wayne Brown’s fingerprints are hidden in many of Burlington’s most well-loved institutions: he was a major supporter of the Burlington Teen Tour Band and the Burlington Youth Theatre, an organizer of the annual Santa Claus Parade, in charge of the Appleby Street Festival, founder of Burlington’s Winter Beer Festival, and was always recruiting friends new and old for one or another of his selfless projects.
Many of his friends didn’t know the extent of Wayne’s community work, though, as he was never one to toot his own horn.
His long-time partner, Christine Demko, says that he was a quiet person, except when he had something to say — he saved his words up for organizing his community projects.
“He was very quiet until he had a purpose,” says Demko. “Except for his silly jokes that he liked to tell a hundred times,” she adds.
Did Wayne have a favourite joke?
“Nothing printable,” Demko responds quickly.
Wayne would describe his big project ideas to friends over lunch in his favourite Burlington restaurants (Jake’s Grill and Oyster House, Industria Pizzeria and Bar, Chop Steakhouse and Bar, QB Sports Bar, the Holiday Inn restaurant, and Isabelle Restaurant and Lounge were amongst his favourites). These lunches were often recruitment drives: at Wayne’s celebration of life at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre (BPAC) on Wed., Jan. 24, 2024, many a friend commented how Wayne would draw them into his community work.
Said his dear friend Rick Burgess on that night, “You couldn’t say no to Wayne and his projects. They were always selfless…and once he got you involved, he’d reel you in until you couldn’t get out.”
A project that was particularly close to Wayne’s heart was the annual dinner he organized for people in need every Christmas. This began in 2018, growing into a two-location event feeding around 100 people. “All from the goodwill of friends and associates of Wayne,” explains Demko. Everything was donated, from the food to the space, to the labour, so that the families could enjoy a beautiful professionally-cooked turkey dinner during the holiday season, complete with a gift for each child.
Ward 5 Councillor Paul Sharman, who spoke at Wayne’s celebration of life, described how, during one of their last encounters, Wayne had been so excited about the Christmas dinner for 55 families that had just passed. “He said, ‘I can’t wait to do it again next year’,” Sharman described.
Indeed, after he died, Demko found a printed-out email (Wayne liked to have hard copies of everything) in which he was setting up the first meeting to begin preparations for the 2024 Christmas dinner. It was to have been on Jan. 15.
Known as “Downtown Wayne Brown,” he lived in the Roseland neighbourhood after his childhood and early adulthood in Toronto. Wayne’s parents did not have a lot of money. In high school, Demko says, there was a teacher who Wayne never forgot, who supported him through a difficult time in his life, when he was trying to balance family responsibilities and school. That teacher’s help enabled Wayne to finish high school.
“He was in need, and that teacher helped. He always remembered that and wanted to pay it forward,” explains Demko.
That “paying it forward” began after Wayne began his own teaching career, at the age of 20. He taught grade school in Toronto, and night school classes, “where he and his students were only three years apart,” Demko says. Wayne especially prided himself on the field trips he organized for his students.
Sports were also always important to Wayne, and one of his first projects involved helping his students, many of whom could not afford equipment, play hockey. He called on his friends to donate their second-hand gear so that the kids could get into the sport.
This project expanded. Soon, Wayne was organizing groups of young Swiss hockey players to come to Canada for a cultural exchange. Later, schools in China were also involved.
Wayne also taught at Sheridan College’s Brampton campus. He was a teacher for 45 years.
Upon retirement, Demko says, he reinvented himself, completely devoting his time to the community. Having moved to Burlington in the late 1980s, Burlington was the lucky recipient of his attention. Well, Burlington and Demko herself. “He looked after me…‘I can look after you the best,’ he’d say to me. And he was right, he did,” Demko recalls with emotion. They were together for 16 years, and friends for far longer.
Demko talks about the private side of Wayne Brown, the man who collected guns (though in 25 years, Demko doesn’t remember him actually using them); the man who was a barbeque master (but couldn’t cook; he was proud of himself for learning to set the timer on the oven in the past year and use cold water to set an egg to boil); the man who was a World War II history buff; the man who loved gardening.
Wayne grew tomatoes every year and was very proud of the 150 tulip bulbs that he purchased from the Royal Botanical Gardens. These particular tulip bulbs came directly from Holland as part of a WWII D-Day commemoration — a beautiful intersection of two of Wayne’s interests.
“We used to do the review of the garden on the way to the car,” Demko says. “The crocuses, tulips, petunias, snapdragons.” Then she adds, laughing, “Who grows snapdragons? Wayne grew snapdragons.”
And then there’s the garage. At the celebration of life, Sheridan professor, federal Conservative candidate for Burlington (politics, and the Conservative party, were more special interests of Wayne), and Wayne’s friend, Emily Brown, recalled an early invitation from Wayne. “Come over, meet the guys in my garage.” And so Brown went over to what Wayne called his “Hospitality Centre,” a regular meeting place for Wayne and his close friends.
His friends, many of whom are gentlemen of a certain age, would pull up to the house — and hang out in the garage with Wayne. They would partake in a drink, taken from the fully-stocked, full-sized fridge that was in there.
In the garage. “Right beside the weed whacker, the work gloves,” Demko laughs. “They’d have snacks and a beverage. He’d have his fancy cheeses in the garage. He loved his fancy cheeses. All the guys knew — come to Wayne’s garage!”
Friends at the celebration of life also were quick to point out some of Wayne’s quirkier ideas. More than one mentioned Wayne’s idea to rotate the location of the Santa Claus Parade. Sharman recalled the first time he met Wayne, during a lunch meeting at Wayne’s invitation, about six months into his first term as councillor.
“He said to me, ‘We really need to do something with that field at the bottom of Brant St.’.”
Sharman remembers replying incredulously, “You mean the park?”
Yes, Wayne was referring to Spencer Smith Park. He thought an amusement park should be there, complete with Ferris wheel, for a beautiful view of the lake.
Though that particular idea did not come to fruition, much like his suggested rearrangement of the Santa Claus Parade route, he made so many more of his ideas come into being.
There was a collaboration with the Burlington Guild of Sculptors and Carvers to carve beautiful walking canes out of wood, to give to veterans or their surviving families. Each cane was unique, carved to suit the individual veteran. Some of these canes were even transported to France via military plane for a WWII commemorative event.
And, of course, the aforementioned Christmas dinner that Wayne so loved, the fundraising for the Burlington Teen Tour Band, and so many more. His love of music (especially the Drifters and the Beatles), and socializing over lunch were frequent themes.
Many of Wayne’s friends have already committed to continuing Wayne’s projects.
And that is Wayne’s legacy. Doing things for the community. Bringing the best out of people. Giving, giving, and more giving.
As Burgess noted at the celebration of life, Wayne Brown “just gave. He made lives better, the community better, and Burlington better. He left us an example we should all aspire to.”
Wayne Brown died of a heart attack, peacefully in his sleep, at the age of 78 on Jan. 13. City Hall flew the flags at half-mast in Wayne’s honour on Jan. 25. He is greatly missed by his partner Christine Demko, son Brad, his many friends and associates, and the restaurants of Burlington, which are sure to be a bit quieter now.
