James Brown

Captain James K. Brown, USAF passed away peacefully on Friday March 29, 2019 at Canton Nursing Center in Canton, GA. He had suffered from Parkinson's disease and Lewy Body Dementia the last 6 years of his life. He was 79 years old. Born on July 6, 1939 in Birmingham, AL, Jim, who went by "Kyle" in his youth, was the son of Albert Amos Brown and Lillian Elizabeth Jester Brown. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Albert Amos Brown Jr., and his son Matthew Kyle Brown. In 1964 Jim married Linda Lou Elliott, the daughter of an Air Force lieutenant colonel. Together they raised 5 children of their own: Kent, Matt, Shannon, Mary, and Laura, and helped raise 4 other children from the extended family: Peter Drysdale, Rosalind Elliott, Louie C. Elliott IV, and Ladonna Lewis. He was very devoted to his family. Jim was an active member of the United Church of Christ in Belvedere, TN for nearly 40 years, and served as an Elder, Deacon, Sunday school teacher and superintendent. He published the book "Give God a Chance" in 2001. He was an early proponent of organic farming and co-founded an Organic Gardening club in Franklin County, TN. From his early years, Jim was highly skilled in mechanics and electronics. Automobile mechanics was an early hobby and at times a profession, and he was known for being able to fix anything. He was also interested in aviation and was in the Civil Air Patrol as a teenager. He paused his college education in 1959 to join the Air Force, qualifying to become an officer before receiving his bachelor's degree, serving until 1969. He eventually became Captain, and served as an electronic warfare officer on B-52s in the Strategic Air Command (SAC), responsible for detecting and jamming enemy radar and holding the security keys for the nuclear weapons. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Capt. Brown flew on trans-Atlantic airborne alert sorties in a nuclear-armed B-52 from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Over the course of the 13-day emergency, his crew was sent repeatedly to an orbit point over the Aegean Sea, within striking distance of the Soviet Union, to show U.S. resolve during the standoff. Jim later went back to complete his college education, receiving a BA in Business Administration from the University of Montevallo in Alabama in 1975. After several business-related jobs, he returned to his technical roots and taught the electronics vocational class at Franklin County High School in Winchester, TN for 23 years. He completed his Master's degree in Vocational Education from Middle Tennessee State University in 1989. After several years of retirement, he went back to work as a technician in the physics lab of the University of the South in Sewanee, TN, where all 5 of his children had attended. There he once again leveraged his skills to "fix anything". He was a frequent attendee of physics and theology lectures, and cherished the intellectual stimulation and collaboration at the university. He is survived by his wife Linda Lou Brown of Canton, Ga., his brother William Robert Brown of Houston, TX, his children Kent Brown of Issaquah, WA, Shannon Condit of Clinton, MA, Mary Beals of Canton, GA, and Laura Veedock of Roswell, GA, and 11 grandchildren. A memorial service is being planned for this summer, details to be announced later.