William "Bill" Lewis Brown, Jr.

On August 5,2021, William Lewis Brown, Jr. left this earth at the age of 95.

Born William (Bill) Lewis Brown, Jr. on July 24, 1926 in San Angelo, Texas to William and Jean Brown, Sr.  After finishing high school in Midland, Texas, Bill attended Texas Tech University.  Leaving after his first year of college, he joined the Coast Guard branch of the military 1944 and was stationed aboard the USS Wakefield in Massachusetts.  He met his first wife, Jean Ingalls there; and they were married December 1, 1945.  He was discharged from the service in 1946 and moved to Texas where their 2 sons, Paul and Kent and daughter, Pamela were born.  They enjoyed many family vacations visiting family on the east coast, going to Disney Land, watching westerns on TV, and caring for the family dogs and cats. 

Bill worked for Texaco in Ft Worth, Texas then moved to Midland and continued working for Texaco until he decided to quit and begin working as an independent land man.  He left that work and moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1963 taking a job with the Bureau of Indian Affairs where he worked for 5 years and was transferred to Miami, Oklahoma, and then to Pawhuska, Oklahoma where he met his second wife, Carolyn Sue Dowell.  Bill married Carolyn and gained two daughters, Tammy and Connie on December 8, 1975.  He retired from the Agency in 1982 as the Acting Superintendent. He was a well-respected employee and friend to many at the Agency.

Bill was the Rock for his family--always present to lend love and support.  He was a wonderful father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He celebrated and loved his family well and enjoyed being with his family for any occasion. He was very devoted to his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and celebrated their every accomplishment.  Bill had many loves and passions! His greatest love was for his Lord and his family.  His brother Bob recounted he felt Bill’s passion was a love for little old cars, and when traveling with his younger brother, Bill would often make Bob stop along their travels so he could go back and examine a little car he had spotted.  He enjoyed negotiating a good deal and buying those little old cars.  He also loved getting together with his brother and going camping.  They made many wonderful memories growing their relationship. Bill was a lover of people and could talk to anyone. He always had a smile for you!  All who met him recognized his brilliance and wit.  His oldest son felt like his passion was being a home body—doing yard work, home repair, fixing things around the house and organizing his work shop.  His wife thought his passion was buying houses as projects to remodel—and he bought quite a few.  His younger son felt his passion was vintage cars.  They spent many hours together discussing them or going to Car Shows.  And his oldest daughter felt words were his passion.  He thrived on learning a new word every day and would use those words to baffle people in conversation.  We seldom understood the word and would have to ask the meaning—which gave him great joy to enlighten us.  Recently she and he discussed the longest word in the dictionary that has only one vowel.  The word is strength.  And she feels that he would want all of us to have strength during this difficult time. His other children agreed he had a huge passion for volunteering and being of service to many organizations. He was a proud veteran and a Loyal member of the American Legion Post 199 in Pawhuska.

Bill was a member of The Memorial Christian Church in Bartlesville and had been a member in Pawhuska of the First Presbyterian Church which combined with the First Christian Disciples Church several years ago.  He treasured his relationship with God and his church communities; and he was an active member of his Bible Study Group at The Memorial Christian Church in Bartlesville.

Bill is preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Jean Brown, Sr. He is survived by his wife  Carolyn Sue of the home, his brother Bob Brown and wife Nancy of El Paso, Texas, children Paul Brown and wife Charlotte, Pamela Burgess and husband Don, and Kent Brown all of Tulsa; and two step-daughters, Tammy Lott and Connie Hatcher, both of Bartlesville as well as nine grandchildren:  Jason Brown and wife Jamie of Arlington, Texas; Mandy Lonsdale and husband Johnny of Tulsa; Becky Williamson and husband Josh of Tulsa; Ashley Patzkowski and husband Josh of Bartlesville; Hilary Melton and fiancé Gordon Evans of Bartlesville; Seth Melton of Ponca City; Anisa Munday and husband Joe of Bartlesville; Talisa Edmundson and husband Bobby of Oklahoma City; Nehemiah Shearhart of Bartlesville; extended family Karen and Michael Hearing of Pawhuska; and numerous, well-loved great-grandchildren and nieces, nephews and friends that will miss him dearly.

The Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, August 14 at 2:00 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Disciples Church in Pawhuska.

IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, MEMORIALS MAY BE MADE TO:

March of Dimes, Donor Service Center, PO Box 8972, Topeka, KS 66608-8972 or
Shriners Hospitals for Children, Processing Center, PO Box 1510, Tampa, FL 33607
 

EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE

The family would like to express their heartfelt appreciation for all the love and thoughtfulness through prayers, calls, and acts of kindness.  May God continue to shed His light on each of you.

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