Richard Brown, 85, of McKinney, Texas passed away July 13, 2018. He was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 13, 1932, to parents Max and Marie Brown. In 1942, the family moved to New Paltz in upstate New York. Richard’s dad was in construction, and followed a job to Yonkers, New York. His dad then moved the family to Baltimore, Maryland, where he took a job in the shipyards. Richard attended grades 5th-9th in Baltimore. While living in Baltimore, he loved to ride the trolley cars, and attend the Baltimore Orioles games. One of the highlights of his time in Baltimore was getting to see Jackie Robinson play baseball.
When Richard was in the 10th grade, his family moved back to Brooklyn, New York. He attended Midwood High School where he was the football quarterback and played baseball. While living in Brooklyn, he became a HUGE Brooklyn Dodgers’ fan, and loved them and rooted for them the remainder of his life. Richard recalled how he and his friends would show up at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, and sneak into the stadium when the attendants were not looking. One major event in his life occurred when the Dodgers beat the dreaded New York Yankees in the 1955 World Series. Richard was able to attend the big World Series Parade for the Dodgers!
He was very proud of his 22 years in the United States Air Force, and his service in Vietnam in 1966-1967. In 1968, he was transferred to Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin, Texas, where he retired in 1973.
After his military retirement, he went to work for Westinghouse in Round Rock, Texas. Later, he left Westinghouse and served as a loyal employee for the State of Texas, working 23 years for the Texas Employment Commission in Austin, Texas.
In Austin, Richard met the love of his life, Jane Jetton Brown. They married in August 25, 1990. Richard and Jane loved to travel throughout the United States in their RV. They spent lots of time together sightseeing, visiting relatives, and traveling to sporting events to watch their grandchildren. Richard and Jane lived out their married lives in Austin, Lubbock, Round Rock, and McKinney, Texas. Richard’s family was greatly blessed by his love for them.
Richard LOVED baseball (all other sports came in 2nd) and all kinds of music -- especially music by the Big Bands from the Jazz and Swing eras. He loved to shop garage sales and antique malls for old vinyl albums, and at one time had a huge collection. He spent many hours transferring the recordings of the albums onto compact disks.
Richard is survived by Jane, his loving wife of 28 years; daughter, Kathy Gilbert and husband Ed; son, Tim Brown and wife Janet; son, Terry Brown; daughter, Mikki Brown; daughter, Karen Hughes and husband Gary; son, Richard Brown and wife Madeleine; granddaughter, Amy Narber and husband Matt; granddaughter, Jennifer Walls and husband Wayne; granddaughter, Rebecca Pepitone and husband Mark; granddaughter, Christina Brown; grandson, Jimmy Knight and wife Aaron; granddaughter, Lisa Pepitone and husband Paul; grandson, Richard Brown; granddaughter, Leigh Fox and husband Bradley; grandson, Eric Hughes and wife Lauren; grandson, Beau Hughes and wife Kimberly; grandson, Brett Brown; grandson, Scott Brown; granddaughter, Jana Brown; and many great-grandchildren, great-great grandchildren, extended family and friends.
Richard was preceded in death by his parents and four brothers: Max, Don, Tom, and Bob (three of whom served in WWII).
A graveside service will be held 10:00 a.m., Sunday, July 15, 2018 at Elm Grove Cemetery in Anna, Texas. Family and friends are invited to the funeral home at their convenience on Saturday to pay their respects and to sign the register book.
Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society at cancer.org or a charity of your choice.