John Trent Browne MD

John Trent Browne MD, 87, quietly slipped into the presence of God on Sunday, January 24, 2021 in Bozeman, MT due to complications of COVID-19. John and his loving wife, Virginia Goodheart Browne (Ginny), married December 19, 1952, had just celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary.

Born in Riverside, CA on May 31, 1933 to Lewis E.J. Browne and Jean H. L. Browne, his family was transferred to many different military bases throughout the U.S. and Panama during his childhood years, finally settling in Boulder, CO in 1945 upon his father's retirement. John graduated from Boulder High in 1950 and attended the University of Colorado where he lettered in tennis in 1953 and 1954, helping his team win CU's first ever Big 8 Championship in tennis. Upon completion of his BA degree, he served in active duty during the Korean War as a 2nd Lt in the Medical Service Corps and was eventually promoted to Captain. Following his military service, he resumed his education at CU, earning an MA degree in Zoology and gaining admittance into medical school at University of Colorado Denver in 1958.

After graduation from medical school in 1962, John moved his family to Albuquerque, NM to complete his internship and residency in OB/GYN. Then in 1966, after all the training was completed, the family moved to Missoula where he was able to “hang his shingle” and practice OB/GYN full-time. He loved bringing new life into the world and so appreciated the happy workplace that newborns bring. John continued to practice medicine until his retirement in 1993.

He was a member of Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Bonner, MT until he moved to Bozeman in 2018. Throughout his medical career, he was active in several professional affiliations: American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Montana Medical Society, American Medical Association, Medical staff at Missoula Community Hospital and St. Patrick's Hospital, to name a few. He served on the Executive Boards for Partnership Health Care, Missoula Community Hospital, and several other affiliations. He was a long-time member of Missoula Rotary and organized a free hearing aid outreach to El Salvador in 1999. After retirement, he devoted much time and effort into becoming a water colorist. He was a prolific artist and used watercolors to tell his stories—desert landscapes, architecture and animals.

He is survived by his wife Ginny, sons Trent (Lynne), and Timothy (Julie), and daughter Linda (Johnny) and his grandchildren Sara (Cory) Heller, Jonelle (Matt) Jordan, Timothy (Jamie), Joshua (Sarah) and Jacob (Devlin) Browne. He was also blessed to know five great-grandchildren: Alexander, Everett, Hazel, Avery, and Abel with two more arriving in 2021. He was predeceased by his parents and two brothers (Lewis C.L. Browne and James H. Browne). His humor, baritone voice and gentle ways will be missed by all who knew him.

The memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m., on Tuesday, August 17, 2021, at Garden City Funeral Home. Friends and family members unable to attend are welcome to view the service by clicking the link below.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Partnership Health Center, a medical outreach clinic for Missoula County of which he was a co-founder.

His advice to everyone was: “Live life to the fullest, be honest particularly to yourself, don't take yourself too seriously. Look beyond the apparent and rely on your own observations to make decisions. Remember that you must look at yourself in the mirror each day. Be sure that the person looking back approves of your actions.”