Donald "Don" Brown

BROWN, DONALD W.

Don Brown, 82, of Appleton, went home to his Savior on Wednesday, March 17, 2010. Don was born on July 31, 1927, in Appleton to the late Wilfred and Josephine (Mignon) Brown. He married his beloved wife of fifty years, Mary Jayne Griswold, on September 26, 1959. She was the light of his world. Don is survived by Mary Jayne, their four children and families: Peter Brown, his wife Nancy and children Stacey, Lindsay and Steven (Gurnee, IL); Sarah and Tim DeBruin and children Will, Tristan, Olivia, Emelyne, Wynne and Isabel (Appleton); Sue and Tom Rathsack and children Jake and Jenni (Plymouth, WI); and Mary Jo and Luca De Florentiis and children Nicholas, Katie and Julia (Cedarburg, WI). Don loved his family and treasured every moment with his grandchildren. Survivors also are Don's two brothers, Carl (Helen) Brown (Appleton) and Kenneth (Lois) Brown (Wrightstown), two sisters-in-law, Lois (Brown) Hermsen and Pat Brown, and many nieces and nephews. Don was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers (Dick and David Brown), and his precious grandchildren Peter Brown and Hannah DeBruin.

Don attended Holy Cross Catholic Grade School in Kaukauna, where he joined Boy Scouts in 1939. In 1940 he first camped at Gardner Dam Boy Scout camp and there began a lifelong venture in Scouting that culminated in being awarded the Silver Beaver Lifetime Achievement Award, the St. George Medal in Scouting for Catholic Scouting and Wood Badge Training for Scoutmasters. Don led many camp jamborees and last visited Gardner Dam in 2007. Don's proudest moment as Scoutmaster of the Troop he started at St. Thomas More was pinning the Eagle Scout Badge on his son Peter. Don served his country, joining the U.S. Navy in 1945-46. He attended Lawrence College on a GI-bill, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics in 1950, followed by an M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1952. He later served on Lawrence University's Alumni board. Don was an accomplished business man and dedicated mentor, beginning his career as an industrial engineer and manager at Marathon Paper in Neenah, and retiring after 28 years at Thilmany Pulp and Paper as Assistant to the President.

Don was a member of St. Thomas More Catholic Church where he was the church organist for over 40 years. He was a naturally gifted musician who could pick up an instrument and play any tune by ear. Don was a founding member of the Winnebago Lake Flies big band, playing the saxophone and clarinet just like Benny Goodman. In recent years, he played piano with the Geriatric Jazz Band. Don's music expressed his happy nature and colorful sense of humor.

Don strongly valued education and believed that the state of public schools were a measure of a community's quality of life. He acted on his beliefs and served from 1981-1995 on the Appleton School District Board of Education, including 7 years as president. During his tenure on the Board, Don oversaw referenda in the 1980s and 1990s that resulted in the building of four elementary schools—Horizons, Houdini, Janet Berry, and Edna Ferber—and Appleton High School North. After his final term, Don worked tirelessly with Supt. Tom Scullen to develop business-education partnerships, the United Reading for Success tutoring program, and the district's Math Achievement Partnership tutoring program. Until fall of 2008, Don volunteered and was a beloved reading tutor of first graders at Richmond Elementary school, where he was lovingly known as “Grandpa Brown.” One of the most humbling moments of Don's life was when the Appleton Education Foundation, in 2008, presented Don with the first Tom Scullen Leadership Award for his dedicated service to education.

Don was a quiet servant to all, gentle and devoted husband, wise and caring father, and a loving, kind and enormously proud grandfather. Each day he strove to live by Paul's words in Colossians 3:12-14, a verse he carried with him: “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

The Funeral Liturgy for Don will be at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, March 22, 2010, at ST. THOMAS MORE CATHOLIC CHURCH, 1810 North McDonald Street, Appleton, with Fr. Gerald Falk officiating. Friends may call at the Wichmann Funeral Home on Sunday from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and again directly at the church on Monday from 10:00 a.m. until the time of services. Entombment will be in Highland Memorial Park, Appleton.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established in Don's name to benefit the Boy Scouts—Bay Lakes Council and the Alzheimer's Association.

The family would like to extend a sincere thank you to the caring staff at the VNA in Neenah, Grand Horizons in Kimberly and Southern Hospice.

Wichmann Funeral Home
537 N. Superior Street
Appleton 739-1231
Online Condolences
www.wichmannfargo.com

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