Walter D. Brown, Jr.

AIKEN, SC -- Walter D. Brown, Jr. (Brownie), formerly of Beaumont, Texas, and a resident of Aiken for 23 years, died January 15, 2007 at Mattie C. Hall Health Care Center after an extended illness of nine years. A private graveside service will be conducted at Forrest Lawn Memorial Park in Beaumont, Texas. Mr. Brown was born on September 18, 1914, in Silsbee, Texas. He was the son of the late Dr. Walter D. Brown, Sr. and Lena Rivers French Brown of Beaumont, Texas. He attended Texas A&M University and remained an avid Aggie fan. He retired from Mobil Oil Refinery in Beaumont as a Safety Engineer with 33 years service. Walter was an Eagle Scout and had the honor of attending the Twenty-First World Jamboree of Boy Scouts in Burkenhead, England at the age of 15. He was an assistant Scout Master of Troop 77 in Beaumont, Texas for 10 years. He was a certified American Red Cross instructor and received the American Red Cross Certificate of Merit for saving a man’s life at Mobil. Walter was an instructor at the annual Fireman’s Safety School at Texas A&M for a number of years. He served in the Army Air Corp during World War II. He had been a member of First Presbyterian Church of Aiken and in recent years of St. John’s United Methodist Church of Aiken. Walter had also been a member of the Aiken Community Concert, Augusta Symphony, and helped deliver Meals on Wheels for the Council on Aging. He had also been a member of the Aiken Senior Men’s Club, the Friday Morning Prayer Breakfast, a member of Masonic Lodge No. 156 and the Scottish Rite. He received his 50 Year Lodge pin. Mr Brown was preceded in death by his first wife, Dorthy Plants Brown of Beaumont, Texas, his second wife, Berta Lacher Brown of Aiken, his son Walter Douglas III of Aiken, and his brother, Miller French Brown of Kalamazoo, MI. He is survived by his daughter, Mrs.Betty Grodahl (Charles A.) of Aiken, his granddaughter, Janette Elizabeth Godwin of Aiken, his step-granddaughters, Karen Grodahl-Irons (Dr. Tom) of Corinth, Texas, and Sharen Grodahl Peckham (Jim) of Greenville, IN, devoted friend, Debra Lynn Garret of Aiken, and a host of other relatives. Family wishes to thank those individuals who have visited, comforted, and taken care of Walter over the years. You have been a blessing to us. He was known for his wonderful smile, deep faith, sense of humor, welcoming handshake, and unending love and kindness. He was affectionately known as “Paw Paw” to his grandchildren, 9 step-great grandchildren, and 2 step-great great grandchildren. He gladly taught them and others “The Pink Pajama Song” to share with their friends and generations to come. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. John’s United Methodist Church, 104 Newberry, NE, Aiken, SC 29801, or to one’s own choice. The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 PM on Sunday afternoon at Shellhouse – Rivers Funeral Home, 715 East Pine Log Road, Aiken, SC. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Walter D. Brown, Jr., please visit our flower store.