Richard William Brown

Richard W. Brown, who served as Board of Directors Chair of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Chair of American Century Investments, Chair of BioMed Valley Discoveries, Inc. and as Chair, President and CEO of Stowers Resource Management, Inc. passed away peacefully on March 27, 2025, in his native Kansas City at the age of 78.

As the first generation in his family to achieve an education beyond high school, Dick was a lifelong learner, a beloved husband, a treasured leader and colleague, and a deeply engaged father and grandfather.

Even in his last days, he never stopped gently teaching his family that every human being has a story. “I learned early on that I could learn something from everybody, if I listened,” he texted his grandsons. “Whether it was a positive or negative lesson, everyone has a story worth listening to. Pay attention and you will learn more than you can imagine. In short, never stop learning.”

Dick was born in Kansas City, Kansas on November 29, 1946, the son of Harold and Edith Brown. His father was a machinist at Procter and Gamble, and his mother worked as an administrative assistant at Western Auto to earn the funds for Dick’s higher education.

He graduated from Wyandotte High School in 1964, from Phillips University with a B.A. in biology in 1968, and from the Washington University Medical School in 1970 with a master’s degree in healthcare administration.

During these formative years, he crafted a life of hard work and unrelenting intentionality, lifeguarding children from the Kansas School for the Blind at the YMCA pool, working in the maintenance department of a Phillips service station, as a dormitory maintenance man, and eventually in the KCK steel mill. Each was a humbling experience, lending him life lessons that informed the signature perseverance, respect, strength, and strategy which guided him throughout his career.

After his residency at Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Dick worked at St. Luke’s Hospital there before moving back to Kansas City in 1980 to lead Research Medical Center as its CEO. In 1983, he also became Executive Vice President of Health Midwest, a developing integrated healthcare delivery system, of which Dick was the founding member. In 1991, he became COO of Health Midwest, and from 1993 until 2003, served as its President and CEO. During his leadership, the organization grew to provide 40% of the acute care for the Kansas City region.

In 1994, Jim Stowers, founder of the money management firm Twentieth Century, later to become American Century Investments, established a dream he and his wife Virginia shared to build a best-in-class medical research institute. Following a series of family battles with cancer, their vision was to attract world-renowned scientists in search of more effective means of preventing, treating and curing disease. Jim reached out to Dick in hopes of harvesting his experience “in a way that would make a positive impact on mankind, while preserving the private company that had made them so wealthy.”

With the approval of the Health Midwest Board, he became a principal advisor to Jim Stowers through the mid and late 1990s into the early 2000s. Dick used his vacation to travel with Jim to visit research institutes and interview scientists. In 1998, he also became a founding board member of the Stowers Institute Board of Directors.

The 600,000 square foot Stowers Institute for Medical Research officially opened its doors in 2000. Dick continued his efforts to support Jim and Virginia’s dream while managing his Health Midwest duties. When Health Midwest sold to HCA in 2003, becoming the largest transaction of a hospital system to date in the United States, Jim Stowers announced that his highly valued Stowers Institute Board member had an as-yet undefined role waiting for him when his work at Health Midwest was complete.

In January of 2004, Dick became the full time Chairman of The Stowers Institute, as well as Chairman of Stowers Resource Management, a supporting organization holding the bulk of the $2 billion gift Jim and Virginia had donated to support the Institute. He also assumed the Chairmanship of BioMed Valley Discoveries, a for-profit technology transfer enterprise devoted to commercializing the intellectual property emerging from the research laboratories at the Institute.

The principal asset owned by the Stowers Institute is the controlling ownership interest in American Century Investments, a global asset management company. In 2007, Dick became the Co-Chairman of American Century with Jim Stowers, and the sole Chairman of the company in 2010, a position he held until his passing.

Dick’s leadership of both the Stowers Institute and American Century was often viewed as his greatest life work; it defined and sustained him. He savored the opportunity to learn from the scientists and was deeply proud of their work. He was described by his colleagues as a highly focused visionary who compassionately put the needs of patients and the medically disadvantaged at the top of every priority list, regardless of the inconvenience or cost.

He held a deep and abiding respect for the vision and intent of Jim and Virginia Stowers as he led the four organizations they entrusted to his leadership. He was viewed as a dedicated conservator of the resources that the Stowers committed to their legacy. Even more, his humility and patience became his signature as he managed two different universes — one for profit, and one focused on finding the truth, irrespective of the cost. His command of strategic priorities across an array of enterprises was his superpower.

Dick Brown has been likened by his colleagues to a complex polyhedron, with multiple interconnected facets that each represent a distinct dimension of his life. Two facets were brightest: his intellect and his heart. His ability to navigate complex challenges with clarity and foresight left a lasting impact on those around him. As for his heart, he was organically generous, always working behind the scenes to help others overcome difficulties. He sought no praise, no recognition; the act of helping was itself his reward. This selfless humility — along with a grandfather’s advice that “everyone has a story worth listening to” — served as a testament to his innate kindness. He left an indelible mark on the lives of those who knew him.

Dick was preceded in death by his mother, Edith Mae Brown, his father, Harold Earl Brown, and his daughter Jodi Lynn Brown, who lost her battle with cancer at age 38. He is survived by cherished wife Jeanette Brown, his daughter Lisa Vansaghi and her husband Tom, by his sister Linda Gatton and her husband Bruce, by his stepsons Dave Hillen, Dan Hillen and his wife Jana, by his grandchildren Jack, Ben, Claire, Will, Caleb, Micah, Alana, Joel, and Jude, and by numerous nieces and nephews. The family also extends its thanks to the remarkable caregivers at the Kansas City Hospice House, for whom Dick held in special regard.

A Visitation will be held starting at 9:30 AM on Monday, April 7 at Country Club Christian Church, 6101 Ward Parkway, Kansas City, Missouri, 64113, followed by a Service at 11:00 AM, and a private family burial. The service will be streamed online at the Country Club Christian website: . https://www.cccckc.org/private-events/.

In lieu of flowers and in tribute to Dick Brown’s relentless passion for creating hope for those navigating life-changing illness, the family would welcome donations to either the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, or to the Claire and William Carroll Fund honoring Jodi L. Brown at the University of Wisconsin Foundation. The fund was established to honor the memory of Dick’s daughter Jodi, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2010 at age 38. Stowers Institute Hope for Life Fund: https://www.stowers.org/support-us, or Jodi Brown Memorial Fund | University of Wisconsin Foundation: https://secure.supportuw.org/give/ or to nancy.francisco@supportuw.org.