Leonard William (“Bill”) Brown, age 88, passed away at his home in Staunton, Ohio, on Friday, September 28, 2018. Born January 24, 1930, in Columbus, Ohio, to Edgar Leonard Brown and Flora Renata (Skubovius) Brown, Bill was the fifth of eight children.
Before graduating from East High School in Columbus, Ohio, in 1948, Bill earned a pilot’s license, and joined the U.S. Naval Reserves as a radio technician. After graduation, Bill was employed by the Ohio Bell Telephone Company in various jobs before he retired as District Personnel Manager in Cleveland after thirty years with the company.
In 1950, Bill married Lois Miller of Columbus, but they were divorced in 1970. In 1978 Bill married Barbara Pintar from Staunton, who survives him. Bill was father to four sons and a daughter: Bill (LeeAnn) Brown, Jr. of Vashon Island, Washington; Mark Brown of Dayton, Ohio; Jeffry (Wendy) Brown of St. Joseph, Missouri; Melissa (Jeff) Anderson of Mesa Arizona; and Chris (fiancee’ Neeka Allsup) Brown of St. Louis, Missouri. He is survived by one sister, Susan (Jim) Mathias of Thornville, Ohio, and grandchildren Alicia Brown, Sarah Brown, Jana Brown, Laura Brown, Noah Brown, Nathanael (Amanda) Brown, Aaron Brown, Bethany Brown, Jeremiah Brown, Joel Anderson, and honorary grandson Tanner Montague and a great-grandson, Marcus Brown. Besides his parents, Bill was preceded in death by two brothers and four sisters from Ohio, and a grandson, Leonard William Brown III of Vashon Island, Washington.
After Bill’s retirement from Ohio Bell in 1978, Bill and Barb moved aboard a 28’ sailboat to fulfill Bill’s dream of sailing his own boat to French Polynesia in the South Pacific. After spending four years in Florida, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, the Browns headed through the Panama Canal and visited Costa Rica, the Galapagos, and islands of the Marquesas, Tuamotus, Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora. They ended their 15,000 miles of open-water sailing when they arrived in Hilo, Hawaii, in 1983 where their youngest son Chris was born.
An avid hunter, fisherman, skin diver, sailor, repairman, builder, and tinkerer, Bill Brown Sr. enjoyed life to the fullest and lived with no regrets. A storyteller as well as a good listener, he will be keenly missed by his family and friends.
Bill loved to support the Salvation Army and the Marines’ Toys for Tots during the holiday seasons. If you wish, drop an extra coin in their kettles at Christmastime and make him smile. Or you may choose to remember St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, the Siteman Cancer Center, or BJC Hospice in Alton, Illinois, in honor of all who battle with cancer.
Bill’s family and friends will be invited to a Celebration of Life in the spring. Per his wishes, his cremains will find their way to the Pacific Ocean, where he was the happiest of sea captains.
