David A. Brown

David A. Brown, 53, died Thursday evening, March 1, 2018 at WellSpan York Hospital. He was the loving husband of Mary I. Babbo-Brown with whom he shared 13 years of marriage, and the proud father of Scott and Sean Brown. Viewings will be held from 1 to 4 and 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, March 8, at Hartenstein Funeral & Cremation Care, Inc., 24 N. Second Street, New Freedom. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Friday, March 9 at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, 315 N. Constitution Avenue, New Freedom, with Father John McCloskey, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Dallastown, presiding. Interment will follow the service at Emanuel United Methodist Cemetery, Loganville. Born March 22, 1964 in York, Dave was the son of the late Stanley E. and Nona G. (Wright) Brown. He attended Loganville Springfield Elementary School and graduated from Dallastown High School where he excelled in marching band, was a member of the concert and stage bands, and was known for his intelligence, musicianship, and gregarious personality. He went on to graduate from Indiana University of Pennsylvania where he played trumpet in the marching band and completed his major in management information systems. Dave then began a successful career in information technology as a software developer, working with global corporations such as Black and Decker, Anheuser-Busch, Drinks.com, Hitachi and PepsiCo. While living in Chicago, Dave met the love of his life, Mary Babbo, at the Taste of Randolph Street in 2002, and they married on April 24, 2004. In 2006, Dave's older brother, Scott, passed away after a brave fight against brain cancer. The Brown family matriarch, Nona, then appealed to Dave to return home and work alongside his parents in the family business. He began by running Brown's Orchards and Farm Market behind the scenes, applying the acumen he gained in international business operations and technology consulting, and went on to become a third-generation owner/operator of the fruit growing business his grandfather began in 1948. Firmly ensconced in the community and in nurturing the family business, Dave and Mary grew their own family and welcomed Scott in 2008 and Sean in 2010. Dave's family became his world, as he threw himself into fatherhood and in to every activity in which his children were involved, including Tee-Ball, Karate, Baseball, Soccer, and Basketball. He was the greatest fan of the Dallastown Green Machines, Dallastown Predators, Dallastown Rink A and York Catholic Irish Baseball teams, and attended every practice and game he could to encourage, photograph and take video of the team members. Dave treated each child as his own, relished their every achievement, and shared their pain in defeat. Dave had a great passion for music of all genres and began to instill in his boys that same love. He patiently practiced piano, violin and viola with them almost daily, and hoped that one day, they might also be interested in playing the trumpet and joining the marching band he so loved. He was also a lifelong fan of Penn State Football and shared his passion for the sport particularly with his oldest son, Scott. Dave was always willing to lend a hand and was an active volunteer with many York area community organizations. He was a member of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Dallastown and always made his spiritual life a top priority. There were no strangers in Dave's life, as he considered everyone a friend. He will be dearly missed. In addition to his wife and children, Dave is survived by his beloved sister, Linda (Brown) Krupa and her husband, Nicholas, and their children, Elena, Erin (Krupa) Bertke and her husband, Jordan, and Matthew; his sister-in-law, Brenda Brown, wife of his late brother, Scott E. Brown, and their children, Amanda (Brown) Lighty and her husband, Jared, and their daughter, Alyssa, and Travis Brown, his wife Kayla, and their daughters, Hailey and Grace; sister-in-law, Annamaria Cherian and her husband, Snehit, and their daughters, Josephine, Leela and Ciara; sister-in-law, Giovanna C. Hobbs and her husband, Drew; brother-in-law, Dr. Angelo Babbo and his wife, Robin, and their children, Andrew, Mario, Anthony and Molly; brother-in-law, Martin (Frankie) Babbo and his wife, Amy, and their children, Querina, Lorenzo, Max, Daniel, Peter and Caroline; brother-in-law, Thomas Babbo and his wife, Heidi, and their children, Mary Grace, Joseph, John and Charlie; and many loving aunts; uncles; cousins; and beloved friends. In addition to his brother and parents, Dave was preceded in death by his mother-in-law, Mary Jo (Hamrock) Babbo; and his father-in-law, Joseph T. Babbo, who adored him. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Dave's name may be made to The Brown Children Education Fund, Attn: Timothy Bupp, CGA Law Firm, 135 N. George Street, York, PA 17401