John Buchanan Brown

John Buchanan Brown passed away peacefully at the age of 90 in his home in Atlanta, in the presence of his family on June 17, 1926. Our community has lost a member of America’s Greatest Generation. John Brown was born in Rowan County, North Carolina on May 17, 1926 to Ethel and William Brown. His family moved to Knoxville, Tennessee when he was two years old. In high school, he served in ROTC and earned the Eagle Scout rank in the Boy Scouts of America. Upon graduation from high school, Mr. Brown was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and served in World War II. Following his military service, John entered the University of Tennessee, where he earned a B.S. in engineering. He subsequently worked for Oak Ridge Laboratories while attending the University of Tennessee, and received a master’s degree in engineering. He then worked for Combustion Engineering in Hartford, Connecticut, where he developed a lifelong love of skiing. John moved to Atlanta to work as an engineer for Lockheed Aerospace, where he met and married the love of his life, the former Anne Mosley of Atlanta. They settled in Atlanta and had two daughters. Later in life, he became a consultant to small businesses in the Southeast, a vocation which allowed him to be active in the business community but never miss any of his daughters’ volleyball or soccer games. John was a longtime member of Northwest Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, serving as an Elder, Clerk of the Session, and Treasurer. He also taught Sunday school and served the broader Atlanta community through several of his church’s outreach ministries. He loved his family deeply and enjoyed travelling with them on annual trips to coastal Georgia and special adventures throughout the United States and abroad. His three granddaughters adored “Pop Pop,” who passed his love of travel on to them. John also enjoyed skiing and golf. He was a member of the Capital City Club and the Phoenix Society, in which he served as treasurer. He was also a member of Sigma Chi fraternity and Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society. John Brown is survived by his wife of more than 51 years, Anne Mosley Brown. He is also survived by his daughter, Margaret Brown Wray of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, her husband, Scott Wray, and three granddaughters, Anne Hayden, MacKenzie and Molly, as well as his daughter Ellen Brown Landers and her husband Jim Landers, of Atlanta. In addition, John is survived by his niece and nephew, Linda and John Maddox, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He is predeceased by his brother and sister, William B. Brown and Betty Brown. A memorial service will be held at Northwest Presbyterian Church, located at 4300 Northside Drive, NW, Atlanta, GA 30327 on Monday, June 20, 2016 at 11:00 AM. The family will greet friends at a reception at the church following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Northwest Presbyterian Church or the Alzheimer's Association, 41 Perimeter Center East, Suite 550, Atlanta, GA 30346. (404) 728-1181.