William Sherrill Brown

William (Bill) Brown, age 99, passed away in the early hours of September 15, 2025, in Prescott, Arizona. He was born June 8, 1926, the oldest child of Virginia C. and Lester L. Brown in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bill's father passed away of a ruptured appendix when Bill was only 15 years old. Being the oldest of three brothers and a sister (Clarence, Ollie and Patricia), Bill's first priority became helping his mother. Bill helped his younger siblings and his mom pay the bills by working in a bakery, assisting his grandfather in custodial duties at various churches and electing to have his Navy pay sent directly to his mother. In 1943, at age 17, Bill left school and enlisted in the United States Navy in response to his country's call for recruits. Bill served 3 years onboard the USS Catoctin, flagship for the 8th fleet in the Mediterranean and later flagship for the 7th fleet in the Pacific, as a Gunner's Mate in both the Mediterranean and the Pacific theaters. After the war, he also served onboard the USS Washington. Toward the end of Bill's enlistment, he married his Hartwell High School sweetheart, Mary Francis Shelley, on March 18, 1945. Bill and Mary were blessed with two children, Phyllis Sharon (Boudreaux) and William Allen, who blessed them even more with four grandsons (Thomas Clent Boudreaux, William Taylor Boudreaux, Christopher Palani Brown and Kevin Keoki Brown).

After the war Bill continued his efforts to provide for his immediate and extended family. Bill repaired TVs while working full time at a paint factory, he soon moved to another job testing satellite systems. A few years later, Bill was recruited for a management position at a firm in Maryland where he and his family lived for nearly 10 years. Opportunity again knocked and Bill moved to San Diego to work as a manufacturing manager at Spectral Dynamics until the new corporate owners (Scientific Atlanta) requested his services as Vice President of Manufacturing at their home office in Atlanta, Georgia. Later Bill was promoted to President of the San Diego plant which meant moving back to San Diego from whence he would retire.

Bill and Mary found themselves looking for the perfect place to retire and that was finalized after Mary read a magazine article about a little mountain town called Prescott, Arizona.

Bill and Mary had a home built and moved to Prescott in November, 1989, where he lived until June 30, 2025. As the great grandfather of Alexa, Ethan, Andreas, Joseph, Liam, Ava, Sila and lyla Boudreaux and Anderson, Luca, Lilah, Quentin and Jinora Brown, Bill was overwhelmed with love and pride only to be exceeded by the promise of his great, great granddaughter expected in December of this year. Bill led a very blessed life to which he attributed to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Bill's faith was the cornerstone of his life. He attributed all to God's blessings and found solace and comfort in prayer. Bill was a member of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, at 1202 Green Lane in Prescott. His funeral service will be held there at 11:00 am on Saturday, November 8th, 2025. A reception will follow.

Bill is predeceased by his parents (Lester and Virginia), his two brothers and his sister (Clarence, Ollie and Patricia), his wife (Mary), and their son (William Allen). Bill is survived by his daughter and son-in-law (Joseph), his daughter-in-law (Susan), his 4 grandsons, his 13 greatgrandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. Though he will be missed by all who knew and loved him, his memory will bring a smile and warmth wherever one might be.