By Rebecca Billman
The Cincinnati Enquirer

CHEVIOT - They called Frank Brown the music man.

Mr. Brown

From his early days playing polka in Milwaukee to his retirement years playing keyboard and accordion for residents of retirement homes, Mr. Brown delighted people with the music he made.

And as the choir director and organist at St. Bernard Church for 41 years, he steered the congregation through the changes of Vatican II, which called for a switch from Gregorian chants and songs in Latin to more modern music with English lyrics.

"Parishioners from St. Bernard Church still hail this as one unforgettable success story," said Mr. Brown's son Jerry, of Newburg, Ind.

Mr. Brown, 90, died Nov. 13 at Mercy Franciscan-Western Hills Campus. The longtime Green Township resident had resided in Cheviot since the death of his wife, Catherine, three years ago.

He could play music by ear before he actually learned to read music, his son said.

Born and raised in Milwaukee, he worked for Allis Chalmers and played accordion with a three-member polka band.

In 1945 he was asked to play Sunday Mass and direct the choir at St. Aloysius in Milwaukee. That was the beginning of his career as a music minister.

Allis Chalmers transferred Mr. Brown to its plant in Norwood and he moved his family to Greater Cincinnati in 1953. That's when he began his 41-year stint at St. Bernard.

"He was a pioneer and a legend in selecting quality music for worship and choirs during perhaps the most challenging years in the Catholic Church's worship history," said his son.

The elder Mr. Brown was charged with the task of selecting new music - in English rather than Latin - for the choir. His son said the congregation was pleased with the transformation.

After he retired from Allis Chalmers in the '70s, Mr. Brown spent hours in libraries researching the careers of great musicians and American history. He set the histories to music and designed programs that he performed bi-monthly at area nursing and retirement homes, including Three Rivers, Hillebrand, Wesley Hall and Judson Village.

Mr. Brown typed and produced songbooks in large type for the residents so they could sing along as he played his accordion or keyboard.

He was preceded in death by Catherine, his wife of 65 years, in 1999.

In addition to his son Jerry, survivors include another son, Richard F. Brown of Burnsville, Minn.; two daughters, Judith Ann Brown and Nancy King, both of Green Township; a sister, Elizabeth Behn of Milwaukee; 16 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren.

A memorial service is 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Bernard Church, 745 Derby Ave. in Winton Place. Mr. Brown's remains were donated to the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and will be interred later at Spring Grove Cemetery.

Memorials: Hospice of Cincinnati, 4310 Cooper Road, Cincinnati 45242.

E-mail rbillman@enquirer.com