Thomas O. Brown's Obituary
Thomas O. Brown, created in Texas in 1929, has changed addresses: he’s gone home. Tom Brown was a family man, and a man who loved living. He was born a farm boy to parents Lennie and Shelton Brown in Montague County, completed military service, was happily married, raised three wonderful children, enjoyed a successful career, always grinned and laughed, traveled extensively and never passed up a bargain. He attended church on Sundays and was an example for his children to do the same. He rarely missed a good estate sale and in retirement he enjoyed golf and poker with his friends. Fried chicken was his favorite food and his wife’s cooking kept him happy. He loved animals and nature and was surrounded by dogs pretty much all his life. When he retired, he kept a nice routine: he let the dogs out, got the paper, fixed coffee and breakfast, read the paper, and then fully enjoyed the day in front of him. He was a true character, quick-witted and friendly to all he met. And he liked pulling an occasional prank. An Army veteran, he proudly served in the Korean war achieving the rank of first lieutenant and actually served in two branches of the military. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy and drafted into the Army where he soon found his place with Company A 45th Army Infantry Blue Warriors. He fit in well with the military because, “I just let everything roll off my back.” While in the service, his friend pulled into a drive-in and he saw, “…the prettiest woman I’d ever laid eyes on.” He told himself, “That’s the girl I want to marry!” When she moved ten hours away, he decided to make the drive twice a month to see her. He was persistent, but he wasn’t sure about his 1951 Ford. Each trip there he asked her to marry him, and each time he left empty-handed. After months of making this drive, a message came into the base with a telephone number. When he dialed it, the young lady answered and said, “I’m ready to get married. Come get me.” That was both “…the longest ten hours I had to endure and the fastest I ever drove that car.” He went AWOL to pick her up before she could change her mind and whisked her straight to a justice of the peace to seal the deal. “I knew right then I’d die with a smile on my face!” With his dream girl now his, Tom dedicated the rest of his life to making Jean Martin Brown incredibly happy. They shared a joyful life together, full of laughter. This example of his pursuit of love is how he lived. He was a self-realized man and always knew what he wanted. Growing up, he worked day and night on the family farm. At nineteen, he left for Dallas and got his first job as double roll operator with the Donovan women’s apparel manufacturing company. Early on he fell in love with the fabric: the colors, the patterns and the texture. Incredibly, he would devote his entire career to the fashion industry and become the President and CEO of Donovan Galvani, the same company where he started his career in 1947. A natural leader, he served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Dallas Apparel Mart. He was also on the Panel of Arbitrators for the American Arbitration Association of which he was a member, and elected Director of the Southwestern Association of Apparel Manufacturers (SAMA). Tom served as a member of apparel boards and committees for North Texas State University in Denton and El Centro College in Dallas. Always a family man, he is survived by the love of his life wife, Jean, sons Doug and Barry with daughters-in-law Lisa and Terry, daughter Tina Brown-Chambers with son-in-law Michael, grandchildren Benjamin Jordan, Brian Joshua with his wife Lauren, Gabriel with his wife Adrian, and Michael, along with great-grandchildren Hannah, Madison and Blakely. While battling dementia, he still had excellent recall of the details of his life and wrote his wonderful and rich life story working on it up until his story on earth ended. He will be missed and forever loved but certainly not forgotten. A celebration of the life of Tom Brown will be held on Sunday, May 24, 2015, at 5:00 p.m. in his beloved Schreiber Memorial United Methodist Church. Tom was a very active member chairing and serving on various committees. Visitation for Tom Brown will be held in the Sanctuary from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Following the 5 p.m. funeral service, guests are invited to a reception in the church’s Family Life Center from 6 – 7 p.m. A sunset military service will be held at Restland Memorial Park. Memorials may be made to: Schreiber Memorial United Methodist Church, 4525 Rickover Dr., Dallas, Texas 75244. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 13005 Greenville Avenue, at Restland Road, Dallas, TX 75243.
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