Obituary of Thomas Jackson Brown

Thomas Jackson (Jack) Brown, 94, of Dalton, Ga. and Chattanooga, Tenn., died on Monday, October 10, 2016. Born on July 29, 1922 in Chattanooga, Jack had five brothers and two sisters and attended Normal Park Grammar School. He graduated from The McCallie School in 1941 where he was the Captain and Adjutant of the school battalion. After graduation he completed a shipbuilding apprenticeship program in Newport News, Va. and then studied engineering at The University of Tennessee. During World War II, Jack enlisted in the Army Corps of Engineers at Ft. Belvoir, Va. where his favorite activity each week was a thirty mile hike. Later he served in the Philippines with the Army Corp. Throughout his life he remained very patriotic. After receiving a flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol from his granddaughter, he requested it to be placed on his casket at his burial. Immediately following the war, Jack began his sales career in the textile industry with Peerless Woolen Mills. The majority of his work career was spent with the Ludlow Corporation as head of the textile sales division in Dalton, Ga. He had the natural gift of conversation, curiosity about people and the ability to strike up a conversation with almost anyone. These abilities also led to a successful sales career in which he was honored with many awards and developed contacts throughout the United States. Jack’s Christian faith was very important to him. He was a founding member of the Fellowship Bible Church of Dalton in the early 1970’s, which first met in his family’s living room. He later attended Grace Presbyterian Church in Dalton, Ga. Jack was a longtime resident of the historic McCarty Subdivision where he and his wife Caroline raised their family. They were devoted neighbors in the big yellow house on Thornton Place for 56 years and active citizens of Dalton. It was a great pleasure for Jack and Caroline to see that the neighborhood they so loved and fought to protect for many years designated as a historic district and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. At McCallie School he lettered in basketball, football and track. Jack was a life-long golfer, known for his long drive well into his eighties. He began playing as a teenager at the Chattanooga Golf & Country Club where he and his brothers were regulars. He was one of the original five founders of the Moccasin Bend Golf Club in 1965 and a longtime member of The Dalton Golf and Country Club. He was preceded in death by his parents, Edward Emerson Brown and Dorothy Gregory Brown; sisters, Dorothy Brown Moore and Alice Brown Brock; brothers, Edward Emerson Brown Jr., Robert Kingsley Brown and Allan Gregory Brown. He is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Caroline Humphreys Brown; daughter, Caroline Brown Hudson (Steve) of Chattanooga, Tenn.; sons, Thomas J. Brown Jr. (Janet) of Dalton, Ga., Harold H. Brown (Leigh Ann) of Huntsville Ala., and David R. Brown (Jennifer) of St. Louis, Mo; brothers, Wesley Gregory Brown of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Lewis Arnold Brown of Houston, Tex.; nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Visitation will be on Friday, October 14, at Wann Funeral Home from 1:00-2:30 p.m., followed by a brief graveside burial at 2:30 p.m. at Forest Hills Cemetery, Chattanooga, Tenn. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to the Jack and Caroline Brown and Harold and Marie Humphreys Scholarship Fund at Covenant Theological Seminary, 12330 Conway Road, St. Louis, Mo., 63141. Arrangements are by Wann Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 4000 Tennessee Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37409 (423) 821-7551. Share your memories at www.wannfuneralhome.com.