Gene Paul Brown
April 3, 1935 ~ March 28, 2020
Private graveside services, with military honors, for Gene Brown, 84, of Hughes Springs will be held Thursday, April 2, 2020 at Harris Chapel Cemetery under the direction of Reeder-Davis Funeral Home of Hughes Springs.
My Father, Gene Brown: Portrait of a True American Hero
From a published interview from 2016:
Gene Paul Brown had a childhood most of us cannot even begin to fathom. Born in 1935 in rural Indiana to Faye (Hilt) and Basil Vern Brown, Gene was the oldest of three boys. When his parents divorced in the 40’s (rare in those days) he had to help raise his brothers while his mother worked cleaning houses. Gene never had what you’d call a “carefree childhood" with toys and games to play with. He also rarely had new clothes or shoes. For his eighth grade graduation he had to wear an old, oversized suit that his father had left behind; when the kids laughed at him and ridiculed his clothing, Gene says he left right after the graduation program and never went back to school again.
Unfortunately Gene didn’t have much time to attend school anyway. In addition to taking care of his 6-year old baby brother, 14-year old Gene worked dozens of odd jobs including setting pins in a bowling alley, bagging and restocking in a grocery store, and “pitching tents” for a carnival.
After struggling several years to survive, at age 16 Gene followed in his beloved uncle’s footsteps and enlisted in the Navy. (His mother had to sign for him because he was underage.)
Gene says he was “always fascinated with airplanes” so he tested high enough to enroll in Naval Aviation school in Hutchison, Kansas, studying Airplane Mechanics. From there he went to Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego, California, serving on Naval ships The Bon Homme Richard and The Ranger. He was then stationed in Whidbey Island, Washington working on Early Warning Bombers.
Throughout his twenty years of service, Gene says he was mostly onboard ships but sometimes on land. "It was always about keeping those planes in the air,” he says. During the Korean and Vietnam wars, he served two tours of sea duty to Japan, and Shore Patrol in the Philippines. He says it was exciting being onboard Naval ships, sometimes up to 6 months at a time. “They kept us busy and we had three meals a day. The only thing is you had to be really careful on the flight deck when those planes were taking off. Those suckers can get you if you’re not paying attention,” Gene says with a chuckle.
Since many of his twenty years were aboard ships, he did not experience armed combat but says he was “always making sure that the planes were ready to go.”
Gene's final station was in Corpus Christi, Texas where he worked on attack aircraft aboard the Naval ship The Boxer. It was in Texas where he finally earned his GED and became a Chief Petty Officer. And Texas is also where Gene Brown met and married my mother, a widow with two young girls. All our lives changed for the better that day.
My father worked hard his entire life. “There’s no way around it, you just have to work,” he says. “You can’t sit around and wait for someone else to take care of you. It makes you lazy.” (Even in his final dementia stages, my father talked about the need to get back to work. He said he was putting in waterways and building various things around the facility...)
I ask how he escaped being angry or bitter about his difficult childhood--being raised by a single mom and having to leave home at such an early age. Typical of my father, he just laughs and again says, “Why would I? No matter how bad things were, I always knew I was loved by my family." He adds, “That’s just life. We were never promised it would be easy or fair and you just do what you have to do and get on with it.”
My father says he is exceptionally honored to have served his country. “I believe America is a place to fight for, and it has never let me down. As I retired after twenty years, I am proud of my service," he says.
On March 28, 2020 my father, retired Navy Chief Petty Officer Gene Brown, died from complications of Alzheimer’s. He was the very definition of an “American hero.” Despite all the obstacles and challenges thrown his way, he made the very best out of every situation. He was a master mechanic and able to fix everything from cars to airplanes. He taught himself how to build houses and was house-flipping even before they had a trendy name for it. Gene was also one of the first in Texas to design and build an underground home almost entirely by himself. He and a small crew of hired hands dug out the hillside, poured the concrete, and installed the plumbing and electrical work. The design inside was open concept, again long before that couple from Waco coined the term.
If anything ever broke in our house—from can openers to washing machines—Dad knew how to fix it. And when the economy tanked during the Carter administration and Dad lost his chain saw/lawn mower repair shop, he immediately created another business by tricking-out old motor homes and selling ice cream and funnel cakes at state fairs and car racing events.
On top of everything else, he was enormously loved and respected by his family and everyone who ever met him.
Basically, Gene Paul Brown had a very successful life in every way possible. Gene is survived by his wife, retired Hughes Springs and Ore City High School teacher Lou Ellen Brown; a daughter, Lisa Brown of Longview; Ann-Marie Murrell (me), formerly from California but very happily back home in Texas; daughter Susan, from another marriage; older brother Bill and his wife Carolyn Brown; younger brother Randy and wife Angie; and sister Denise and her husband David Williams. He also leaves behind two grandsons: Jason Paul Robbins and his wife, Mimi Page Robbins of Longview, and Zackary Scott Zanardi of Dallas. Grandpa loved them dearly. (Two other important people in Dad’s life were his stepfather, Haehl Kuhn, and his paternal stepmother, Ruby Brown.)
Thank you and God bless you, Dad. Heaven just gained an American hero.
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I'm so sorry to hear of Gene's passing, I know the passed couple of years have been a challenge for the girls.Trust in God and know that Gene's suffering is over. He left his ever lasting mark on this town.
I’m so sorry to hear of Mr. Brown’s passing. Prayers for Lou and the entire family.
Sue, I'm very so to hear of your Fathers passing.
Know that hes in a better place.
I know how you have always love and thought about , him.
You have my love and Prayers.
Mrs. Brown–
U taught my father (Preston) and I had the pleasure of meeting you and Mr. Brown when I was still in High School. Youre in my prayers and thoughts
John L. Moore
Ms Lou. God bless you and family. Sweet, sweet man. He will be missed but praise God one day you will see him again.
God bless you, Lou and family! Gene was a kind and very good man. With love to you all as you grieve
On behalf of the (VFW) Lyles-McDaniel Post 6968 in Linden, TX, our thoughts & prayers are with you. And we want to thank our "brother" for his service to his country. God bless.
God bless you, Lou, and your girls through this tough loss. Gene was a kind man, whom I always respected an awful lot. My your good memories comfort you at this time.
With love, Betsy Schindler
My family is saddened to hear the news of Gene’s passing. You are in our prayers.
Though my wife Carolyn and I have never met Mr. Brown we feel we know him well through his daughters Ann-Marie and Lisa who are strong Christians and patriots. WE know what we see in these ladies, who are beautiful inside and out, is a reflection of their parents. We appreciate the great service Mr. Brown gave our nation and hope to express this to him some day in Heaven.
Sorry to hear this. Mrs. Brown, Lisa and Ann are in my thoughts. Hope you are OK during this time.
Sue, Our Prayers & thoughts are with you, Stephanie,James,and Debra.Plus those precious 10 grand children. We Pray for the other family. Give Lou and her girls my Prayers.
Your Strength and Memories will get y'all thru. Our love. Dona and Family
What a wonderful tribute to Gene. This is the legacy he has left behind. He took time with those he loved to tell stories of his life, and now he lives on in them.
Ms. Brown is very special to our family (she taught my brother Calvin to FINALLY tell time on a "regular" clock face his Senior year).
I loved reading of your dad's history and want to say God bless his service and God bless the Brown family.