William Brown Obituary

WILLIAM (BILL) CAMPBELL BROWN On May 29, 2009, William (Bill) Campbell Brown, 81, went to be with his Lord after a hard-fought three-year battle with pancreatic cancer in the comfort of his home surrounded by loved ones. In 1928, Bill was born in Los Angeles, the only son of Marland and Willie Brown and attended Los Angeles High School graduating in 1946. He continued his education briefly at UCLA until he was drafted into the United States Army. There, he became a Sergeant First Class and was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany as a small arms repairman. He returned to pursue his formal education at Multnomah School of the Bible in Portland, Oregon where he received his certificate of completion in 1955. He also completed courses with Wycliffe Bible Translators and was a licensed vocational nurse through the BIOLA (Bible Institute of Los Angeles) School of Missionary Medicine. He married his wife, Marie Harriet Brown, in 1956 and shortly after they moved to the village of Pomaro in the Michoacan region of Mexico to be missionaries until 1958. As the village was extremely remote, only accessible by foot or donkey, Bill also helped many of the villagers with emergency medical and dental needs. Upon returning to the Los Angeles area, they resided in Glendale where he owned and operated the Glendale Bible Book Store. In 1967, they moved to Santa Ynez, CA to raise their four children. Bill Brown, Jr. (Becky) Roland, Iowa; Melinda Wilkinson (Thom) Copperas Cove, Texas; Karen Christenson (Paul) Eagan, Minnesota; Paul Brown San Luis Obispo, CA. In 1980, Bill started operating Drum Canyon Farms located halfway between the cities of Buellton and Lompoc. Shortly after that, he operated Santa Ynez Valley Farm Machinery in Buellton for a brief period. He also conducted a radio show called "Five Minutes with the Bible" for many years. Bill loved to read and with his love of learning he developed many interests in his life. He was an avid weapons collector and became a member of the National Rifle Association at the tender age of eleven. In homage to his Scottish heritage (clans Campbell of Argylle and Wallace) he mastered the bagpipes and used his skill in conjunction with another hobby of his, beekeeping. He would get phone calls to come play his bagpipes in order to get swarms of bees to reform into a hive. He also kept a herd of dairy goats in his backyard. Bill and Marie moved to San Luis Obispo, CA in 2006 to be closer to their son, Paul, and two of their thirteen grandchildren, William Brown (Laura) Orcutt; and Linda Napoli (Daniel) Paso Robles. Throughout his life, Bill impacted many people. Through his involvement in the churches he attended, his home bible studies, his private counseling, and his business dealings, Bill earned the respect of those around him and a solid reputation for being fair, wise, honest, and thoughtful. Aside from his parents, military service, Multnomah School of the Bible, and time spent as a missionary, Bill said he had two other major influences on his life. One was his great friend and mentor, Brandon Rimmer, with whom he co-wrote the book, The Unpredictable Wind, and the other great influence, was the writings of C.S. Lewis. In particular, he spent many an evening reading the Chronicles of Narnia to his children. His ability to use different voices for all the characters was a delight to be long remembered. As he approached his passing, Bill actively researched his illness and chose to battle it head-on while remaining to be at peace with whatever God's plan was for him. He was an outstanding example of how to fight for life and to die with dignity, grace, patience, and above all faith. He wanted to share the following scripture at his passing: "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" Romans 8:28 He will be missed by all who dealt with him and his memory will be treasured by his family. Memorial services for William Campbell Brown will be held graveside on Monday, June 08, 2009, 12 noon, at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Ballard, CA. Call 805 550-1661 for details. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Gateway Foursquare Church, P.O. Box 856, Santa Ynez, CA 93460. Bill has requested all in attendance of the service to not wear black, but if you must, at least wear a colorful tie. Come prepared to sing jubilantly the hymns Bill selected for us to send him home with.