Jerry Brown - Obituary

erry Russell Brown, 76, a 35-year resident of Gingerville Estates in Edgewater and previously of New Carrollton, died of pulmonary fibrosis Aug. 20 at Anne Arundel Medical Center after a 10-year illness. Born June 10, 1931, in Fairmount, Ind., and a 1949 graduate of Fairmount High School, Mr. Brown attended Indiana University in Bloomington in 1949 and 1950. He joined the Navy in 1951 during the Korean War, receiving training in Pensacola, Fla., and Patuxent Naval Air Station, where he met his wife, Mary Ann Brown, of Washington, D.C. They were married on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, 1953. After their son was born at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Mr. Brown was transferred to the carrier USS Coral Sea as an aviation machinist technician, and his wife to the Mediterranean. He was honorably discharged in 1955 and returned to the Washington area. His first civilian job was at a Chevrolet dealership owned by the Rogers family. When Bill Rogers established the Rogers Chevrolet dealership in Bowie a few years later, Mr. Brown joined him, working mostly in sales. He was named a corporate officer and general manager before retiring in 2001. He was a commodore of the West River Yacht Club for 30 years. He was also a member for seven years of the Early Pattern Glass Society. He collected and was a dealer in antique glass. In addition to his wife of 54 years, he is survived by one son, Michael W. Brown of Edgewater; his mother, Mildred Compton Brown of Marion, Ind.; and one grandson. He was the son of the late Russell Brown. A life celebration will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, August 23, 2007 at Kalas Funeral Home, 2973 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater.