“Davage G. Browne, 67, of 112 Cleveland Ave., died Saturday, Dec. 2, 1972, at Tompkins County Hospital, after a long illness. He was the son of Mrs. Nellie DeEtta Browne and the late Marshall G. Browne.

  He was a past deacon of St. James AME Zion Church.

  He founded the first black Boy Scout troop in Ithaca, and organized the first black semi-pro basketball team in Ithaca. He was the founder and first commander of the Browne-Hopkins & Johnson American Legion Post; and was a member of the V.F.W. 

  He served in World War II as Army sergeant.

  He was employed for many years with the New York State Electric and Gas Corp. as custodian, and also was custodian at the Congregational Church in later years.

  Besides his mother he is survived by a son Robert Browne of New York City; two brothers, James M. Browne of Rochester, and George M. Browne of Ithaca; three sisters, Mrs. Josephine Yeaton of Ithaca, Mrs. Henrietta Hill of Buffalo, and Mrs. Daisey Majors of Ithaca.

  Services will be held at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday at the Herson Funeral Home with the Rev. J. Franklin Smith of the St. James AME Zion Church officiating. Burial will be in East Lawn Cemetery.

  Friends may call from 7 to 8 p.m. tonight at the funeral home where military organizations will hold a service at 8:00 p.m.”

Obituary of Davage G. Browne, Ithaca Journal, December 4, 1972, 5.