Whittier B. Brown

Whittier B. "Ben" Brown, 87, of Loveland, Colorado, passed away Friday, Aug. 7, 2009 at McKee Medical Center.

Ben was born in Apalachicola in 1921 and lived with his parents, Whittier and Mamie Brown, and two sisters, Catherine and Jeanette, in Eastpoint until graduation from Carrabelle High School in 1939.

A descendant of the Brown family, which led the early settlement of Eastpoint, Whittier Brown surveyed territory on North and South Bayshore in Eastpoint.

Ben received his bachelor’s of arts at Guilford College, North Carolina in 1943, enlisted in the Naval Reserve, and after Officer Candidate School was commissioned an Ensign. He served on destroyers during World War II (in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific theaters) and the Korean War (in the Taiwan and Korean areas), and was discharged with the rank of lieutenant in 1952.

He remained in the Naval Reserve, served in an active unit in Dallas, Texas for a number of years and as commanding officer of his unit for three years, retiring in 1968 with the rank of commander.

He was married in 1944 and by 1952 he and his wife had four children, Beverly, Beth, David, and Brad. He remarried after the divorce from his first wife in 1963, adding three stepchildren, Mark, David, and Gary Shields, to his family.

He began his civilian career, industrial purchasing, in Dallas in 1952, culminating in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1960 as purchasing manager for Acme Brick Co., later for Justine Industries, Inc., where he was retired in 1984. During this period he became active in the National Association of Purchasing Management, serving as local president, district vice-president, and national vice-president, as well as chairing a number of committees, local, district, and national.

He also taught a course in industrial purchasing at North Texas State University for two years, in 1965 and 1966. He was presented the district Harold Cosgrove Outstanding Purchasing Agents Award in 1966 and the N.A.P.M. highest award, the Shipman Gold Medal Award, in 1975.

Upon retirement in 1984, he and his wife Betty moved to Loveland, where they have been active as volunteers at McKee Medical Center and in bridge clubs, living their dream and enjoying visits from their children and other family members and friends.

Ben is survived by his wife, Betty, three children, David Arctur, Bradford Brown and wife, Tracey, Beth Loy and husband Scott, three stepchildren, Mark Lee Shields, Robert David Shields, and Gary E. Shields and wife, Vanessa, 11 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

His sister, Catherine Brown Williams, lives in Tallahassee, and his sister Jeannette Brown Taylor, lives in Pensacola. Ben was preceded in death by his daughter, Beverly Brown, and his parents.

A funeral service was held Tuesday, Aug. 11 at Galilee Baptist Church in Loveland. Interment followed at Resthaven Memory Gardens.

Memorial contributions may be made to Pathways Hospice or McKee Medical Center in care of Allnutt Funeral Service.