Thomas Lorenzo Brown

Please click here to view the livestream of the Funeral Service.

Livestreaming will begin at 2:30pm on Saturday, October 3rd, 2020.

Thomas Lorenzo Brown, PE, CWD

    Sr. Geotechnical Engineer 

Thomas Lorenzo Brown (better known to his family as Lorenzo), 72 passed away peacefully September 28, 2020.  Born in Hampton, VA, Thomas graduated from Hampton High School in Hampton, VA, then attended Howard University in Washington, D.C. where he earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.   Thomas continued his higher education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA where he received a master’s degree in geotechnical (foundation) engineering.   

Thomas was well known for his expertise in the specialized field of geotechnical engineering. He was the founder and CEO of Thomas Brown Associates, P.C. a Washington, D.C. based geotechnical and foundation engineering consulting firm and TLB Associates, Inc., Glen Burnie, MD  which provided contract drilling, laboratory testing, and instrumentation services.  Together, the two companies employed, trained, and mentored over 100 staff engineers and geologists, engineering technicians, and drill crews including many immigrants from Africa and all over the world.

Thomas and his team of professional engineers and drillers worked extensively with clients such as the Government of the District of Columbia (DCDPW), the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), and Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT).

In addition to his accomplishments as a registered professional engineer in the states of Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, New York, and Massachusetts, Thomas was also a licensed certified well driller; a trade which he truly loved. His most notable and cherished projects included work performed on Trans-Alaska Pipeline; geotechnical consulting during the upgrade of the Navy Fuel Depot, Casco, ME; foundation engineering consulting during construction of an agricultural dike in western central Tindou, Guinea; the water distribution project in the District of Columbia; the Woodrow Wilson Bridge construction between Maryland and Virginia; the baseball stadiums in Baltimore and DC; the Potomac River Bridge and the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail.  His most recent consulting service was with FEMA in Puerto Rico.

Brown is preceded in death by his mother, Katie P. Brown, his father, John T. Brown and his sister Mary E. Brown.  His survivors include his wife, Elizabeth (Betty)  Brown, his brother Eric Brown and his wife Melody and their sons Shaun and Isiah, son Noah L. Coakley and grandchildren Rikki McClurkin-Mason, Noah L III, Eric, Nia and Nyla Coakley, Aunt Juanita Scott of Jamaica, Queens, NY, and goddaughter Tori (Marcus) Daniels.

A viewing will be held at 3:30 pm Saturday, October 3, 2020 at Beale Funeral Home located at 6512 NW Crain Highway (Rt 3 South), Bowie, MD.  Due to COVID restrictions, a private service will be held prior to the viewing which can be accessed online starting at 2:30 p.m. (https://www.beallfuneral.com/).  In lieu of flowers please send donations to the Howard University School of Engineering (http://www.cea.howard.edu/give-cea) specifying “in Memory of Thomas L. Brown.”