Retired pediatrician stays young at heart

Being a pediatrician was serious work for retired physician Will Brown, but being around children brought out his lighter side. Even at age 74 he’s a big kid at heart.

You needn’t look further than the collection of teddy bears that fills his Moiliili apartment to know this is true. Brown has more than 400 plush bears along with holiday versions that are "hibernating" in storage, he said. They occupy every room, lining the headboard of his bed, perching on windowsills and shelves, and adorning the bathroom counter. Elsewhere there are crystal bears, bear cookie jars, bear pillows and artwork, bear toys, bear refrigerator magnets and more.

"This is as much their home as mine," Brown said. "Teddy bears have always been a part of my life. They are friendly and cuddly."

A teddy bear also graces his personal business card — redeemable for a hug — and was the design Brown chose for a tattoo when he was ready to declare himself a gay man in 1986.

"It was a coming-out present to myself," he said.

Before retiring from his pediatric practice in New York in 1999, Brown kept a laundry basket filled with teddy bears in his waiting room to soothe young patients. He treated TV star Lucille Ball’s grandchildren and members of the royal family of Bhutan but also cared for the less fortunate, working with several nonprofit organizations to provide medical care to needy children.

A Vietnam veteran, Brown helped soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder, and when he moved to San Fransisco in 2003, he provided pediatric training to emergency medical technicians. After moving to Hawaii in 2010, Brown became an assistant clinical professor at the University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine. He tutors students, runs a parenting boot camp for new dads, serves as faculty adviser for an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) interest group for UH graduate students and offers health services at his church, often accompanied by Dr. Will Bear, a plush character from his collection which sports a white lab coat and stethoscope.

Like many collectors, Brown said he didn’t plan on amassing so many items — it just happened. He does admit to keeping his teddy bear, Mr. Guffy, from when he was an infant. The googly-eyed bear lost its fur when Brown dunked it in water as a boy. (A friend later crocheted a new coat for it, decorated with red yarn bows.) Many years after that first teddy bear, Brown got another one as a gift from his 2-year-old daughter, now 42. Over time, whenever Brown received gifts, they came in the form of teddy bears.

"It just caught on," he said.

Brown has bears from all of the places he’s lived, including a bear with an "Oz" shirt from Kansas, where he grew up. When he had hip replacement surgery, a friend gave him a bear dressed in a peach-colored bed jacket and a beard to resemble Brown. And when he travels, there are always a couple of stowaways in his luggage.

"One time a hula bear went to Paris and ended up staying in a bar named the Teddy Bear. What hula girl wouldn’t want to live in Paris?" Brown chuckled.

They make the best companions, he added.

"Bears don’t cause problems and they don’t talk back."

When he’s not taking care of others or his bears, Brown enjoys music, yoga, Hawaiian culture and traveling. He said his collection is a reminder to stay young at heart.

"We may have to mature, but there’s no need to grow up."

Possessed is an occasional series featuring Hawaii residents and their unique or fascinating collections. Tell us about your collection by emailing features@staradvertiser.com or call 529-4778.