Thomas Brown

Thomas A. Brown, age 88, died at Glenwood Alzheimer's Care on 26 January 2017. Born on 28 July 1928 to the late William and Laura Brown, he was raised on Oak Street in the east end of Columbus. After graduating for East High School ('46) he joined the Marines and was stationed in the Camp Lejeune. After an honorable discharge, he returned to Columbus, marrying and then earning his engineering degree at OSU ('58). Working as a mechanical engineer he was employed by Delco Remy and then Kennametal and Sandvik. He earned two patents while employed at Kennametal in Latrobe Pennsylvania. After a hiatus of 25-years he returned to Columbus. His two loves were gardening, for which he enjoyed sharing the fruits of his labor and ballroom dancing. Many weeks he would dance 7 days a week. He was a member of the Downtown Dance Club for many years and held multiple jobs in that club. He was environmentally astute and began recycling in the early 1970's - long before it was fashionable to do so. While gardening, his specialties were tomatoes and Canna Lillies. He was preceded in death by his older brother David Allen. He is survived by sons Paul (Jeri) and Alan (Pornsam) and 5 grandchildren, Kevin, Katie, Jeremy, Cash and Scarlett. He will be interred at Union Cemetery. His family is very appreciative of those individuals who provided care to him since the ''Incident''. The 'Incident' was a home invasion that left him with a skull fracture and unconscious in a pool of blood next to his bed. Initially the responding officer said he must have fainted, in spite of the obvious. Further investigation by Columbus Police upgraded the cause to Miscellaneous Incident. The attack left him with no short term memory, 4 surgeries and the inability to function. One can only hope the misery my father experienced in his last year of life be felt to the same degree by the individual who stole his TV. Contrary to this, many individuals have hearts of gold and made his remaining year as pleasant as possible. Those individuals who care for people suffering from dementia have shown a spirit and humanity that is unmatched in any other profession. Special thanks to nephew Mark Brown and his wife Janice who were everyday visitors, helpers, and coordinators of his well-being, taking on tasks both small and momentous.