Carleton Asbury Brown

Carleton Asbury Brown, 80, passed away, January 16, 2023, in Aiken, South Carolina surrounded by his wife of 55 years, Diana, and his devoted family.

     Carleton was born on April 24, 1942 in Baltimore, MD. After graduation from The Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, he attended Norwich University and obtained his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering and later a MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

     Upon graduation from Norwich, Carleton was commissioned a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a Combat and Construction Engineer Officer. He was stationed in Korea near the DMZ as Commander of “C” Company, 802^nd Engineer Battalion and led the construction of the Belvoir Bridge over the Han Tan River from 1965 to 1966.

     After active duty he transferred to the 121^st Combat Engineer Battalion, as a Captain in the Maryland National Guard where he completed his 8 year service obligation. For his service, Carleton received the National Defense Service and Korea Defense Service Medals.

     Carleton went on to have a distinguished private sector career in the Information Technology and Telecommunications industries. He spent his early years with IBM, rising to corporate account executive of the company’s largest account, AT&T.  Wang Laboratories recruited Carl where he rose to Southern Region Vice President and General Manager, overseeing one-fourth of its U.S. Operations.

     MCI Corp. was so impressed by Carl’s leadership of Wang’s rapid buildout of its U.S. network that they recruited him as President of their Southwest Division where he later grew it to the top performing division of the company.

     Carleton later served as President and CEO of the AMOCO Laser Company. Here he led the R&D photonics company to become an integrated provider of hi-linear/hi-power optical amplifiers and positioned it for acquisition by Scientific Atlanta. After closure on the acquisition, ADC Telecommunications, Inc. recruited Carleton as President and CEO of its American Light Wave’s subsidiary, a leading global CATV infrastructure provider. This assignment took Carl to international markets where he opened new growth opportunities.

     Carleton served on the board of directors at three publicly traded and two privately held businesses. He was an active member of SAME (Society of American Military Engineers) and ASME (the American Society of Mechanical Engineers).

     Carleton was particularly fond of his contribution to his alma mater Norwich University where he served as Chairman of the Board of Fellows for six years. He supported the development of two new curriculums for the School of Business and Management including Master of Science in Information Assurance (MSIA) and Bachelor of Science in Information Assurance (BSIA) degrees. Norwich was the first academic institution in the U.S. to offer degrees in high demand “cyber security”.

     He served on the Board of Directors for the USC Aiken School of Business and was a member of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA).

     Carleton was a member of the Aiken 50⁺ Men’s club where he served as President and Program Chairman, the Aiken Senior Men’s Club and the Aiken Republican Club.

     He and Diana resided in Woodside Plantation and are members of the Woodside Country Club and St. John’s United Methodist Church where Carl served on its Church Council, taught adult education classes, ushered and served on the Stewardship and Finance committees.

     Carleton enjoyed watching his children participate in high school and collegiate sporting events. He was active in Boy Scouts and Little League Baseball.  Every year Carl made sure the family attended The Scottish Highlands Games in their kilts, either at Stone Mountain, GA, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO or Boone Hall Plantation in Charleston, SC. Carl also enjoyed golf, tennis, traveling abroad with Diana and spending time with grandchildren, Grace and James. He was an avid reader of American and European history.

     Carleton was very proud that he was a descendant of a long line of military officers who faithfully served their nation; including conflicts going as far back as the French and Indian War, American Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, World War I and II, Korean and Vietnam wars. He was especially proud of his son, a Captain who served in the 82^nd Airborne Division and as a Green Beret in the Army Special Forces.

     Carleton and Diana, moved to Aiken in 2015 from the Charleston area to be closer to their grandchildren in Charlotte. Carleton is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Diana Long Brown of Baltimore, MD; son David Abbot Brown II of Charlotte, NC; daughter Aileen Margaret Brown, and daughter-in-law Catherine Margaret Maguire of Vancouver, B.C; daughter Laura Cameron Brown and son-in-law Justin Lee Horn of Anaconda, MT; grandchildren Grace Catherine Brown and James Carleton Brown of Charlotte, NC; niece Sarah Ray Guiles, husband Charles and family of Baltimore, MD; cousin Carolyn W. Deming of Sun City, FL and many second cousins.

     He was pre-deceased by his parents, David Abbot Brown of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada and Frances Asbury Brown of Columbus, OH; and sister Martha B. Ray of Baltimore, MD.

     A Memorial service will be held Thursday, January 26^th at 2 pm at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Aiken, SC with The Rev. Dr. W. Timothy McClendon officiating. A reception will follow in Ward Hall.

     Funeral and Interment with Military Honors will be Friday, January 27^th at 1 pm in the Beaufort National Cemetery, Beaufort SC.

     Memorial contributions may be directed to St. John’s United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 809, Aiken, SC 29802 (stjaiken.org).

SHELLHOUSE – RIVERS FUNERAL HOME, 715 EAST PINE LOG RD., AIKEN, SC