Harold (Brownie) Brown

Harold (Brownie) Brown, 90, passed away on April 13, 2009, in Moses Lake at LakeRidge Special Care Center.

A celebration of life will be held May 9, 2009, at the Presbyterian Church in Wilson Creek at 12 p.m. A luncheon will be served. Arrangements are in care of Kayser’s Chapel & Crematory, Moses Lake.

You may sign the guest book or leave a note for the family at www.kayserschapel.com

Brownie was born on March 13, 1919, in Irby, Wash., to Tony and Mary (Tavares) Brown.

In 1932, the family moved from Irby to a farm north of Wilson Creek known now as the “Turkey Farm.” At age 15, he started working for Lawrence Webley, which he did most of his life. He also worked for Vince Poe.

In 1941, he was drafted into the Army and served until 1945 with Company C 742nd Amphibious Tank Battalion. He served his time on U.S. soil as a medium Tank Crewman. He taught how to fight and fire from a “Medium Tank.” In the army he reached the rank of staff sergeant and received the World War II Victory medal, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. He loved the Army even turning down furloughs, after the service he worked in the Hartline area for awhile then returned to the Webley Ranch.

In 1952, he began hauling cattle for cattlemen and weighing cattle at sixx livestock yards. He was very good judging the weight of the cattle and could almost guess their weight as they came over the scales. Brownie lived in Marlin and ran some cattle of his own.

In 1990, he moved to Coulee City, where he enjoyed his neighbors and was always eager to help them, most of all he loved his noon meal at the Senior Center. The Senior Center was his life line. Brownie loved to play cards, he also loved to play his guitar and sing. He was Coulee City Senior Citizen of the Year in 2002. Because Harold never married he became a part of the Webley family and over the years especially loved and spoiled all of Velma’s family.

Unable to live alone, he moved to Wilson Creek with Velma Provost last fall. Brownie was the sixth child in a family of eight. His siblings were Tony, Lucy, Julia, Roy, Francis, Jean and Dorothy. To our knowledge he is survived by one sister Jean, of Snohomish, Wash, several nieces, nephews and cousins.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Coulee City Senior Center, c/o Linda Diaz, P.O. Box 995, Coulee City, WA 99115 or c/o Velma Provost, P.O. Box 97, Wilson Creek, WA 98860.