Mr. Manley Fonnie Brown

Manley F. Brown, age 83, died in the early morning hours on December 9, 2024. Born in remote Sols Creek, North Carolina, on January 11, 1941 to Wilburn and Lucy Brown, Manley was raised by his mother with a healthy amount of help from aunts, uncles, his first cousin, Dorothy Broom, and his father’s parents, Manley and Sophia Brown. Manley’s father was ill for many years and was unable to be a meaningful part of his life except in spirit. At a very young age, Manley’s grandfather, for whom he was named, declared that the very talkative youngster was going to be a lawyer. This declaration proved to be prophetic.

Manley attended Cullowhee High School in Cullowhee, North Carolina, where he graduated as class president in 1958. One of the things of which he was most pleased was his high school basketball team. His senior year, he once grabbed forty rebounds in a single game while playing center on a team that won over twenty consecutive games. Life lessons and those learned playing such an intense, competitive sport continued to drive him for the rest of his life.

After attending Western Carolina University, Manley applied to and was accepted into law school at Mercer University in Macon. He would later receive his undergraduate degree in 2014. Manley studied tirelessly throughout his years at Mercer and graduated second in his class in 1965 as Editor and Chief of the Mercer Law Review. After passing the Georgia Bar Exam, Manley was hired as a law clerk to the late Middle District of Georgia federal judge William Augustus Bootle, for whom he clerked for eighteen months. Manley was hired thereafter as an assistant United States Attorney and tried many cases with great success over the next several years.

In 1969, Manley went to work with Adams, O’Neal & Hemingway in Macon where he and the late Hank T. O’Neal, Jr. formed a bond that served them and their clients well. They established their own firm in 1977, and along with Kice Stone and Lamar W. Sizemore, Jr., the firm of O’Neal, Stone & Brown commenced operation. At the time of Hank’s death in 1983, the firm was known as O’Neal, Brown & Sizemore, and it exists today as O’Neal & Brown. Manley retired from practice in 2019 upon conclusion of a difficult case in which his final two depositions were both inspirational and quite effective in bringing a final recalcitrant defendant to its knees. He enjoyed what hundreds have called a legendary career in the criminal, serious personal injury and wrongful death areas of the law.

Manley championed the rights and causes of those most in need of help. His work ethic, sense of purpose, drive and determination resulted in a number of successful jury trial outcomes and other successful types of results over his nearly fifty-five years of practice. In closing argument at trial, he liked to quote a long ago attorney named Louie Nizer who said: “The truth does not come into a courtroom voluntarily. It has to be dragged in, by its heels, kicking and screaming every step of the way.” Manley had a keen mind and was quite successful at getting at the truth, often in the most unpleasant of showdowns. He never wavered and rarely lost one.

In addition to his practice, Manley taught several generations of law students at Mercer University’s School of Law where he served as an adjunct professor for nearly forty-five years. He did his very best to impart to his students the need to be prepared, to be honest and forthright with the Court and others and to be ready to go on the offensive when it was time to pick a jury. The phrase “attack the day” applied equally to Manley and his beloved Georgia Bulldogs. The ins and outs of the trial notebook and its use are legendary to those who took his class and paid attention.

Manley took walks around downtown Macon during the latter years of his career. Many individuals with no place to call home were recipients of his kindness and generous nature. A homeless man he called “Mr. Beard” stands out in memory – may he rest in peace. Manley gave freely of his time and gave generously to others as he was able throughout his life. He wanted the individuals who cared for him in his final days to also receive “something” as he put it. His family thanks the staff and doctors at Piedmont North Hospital in Macon for their help and compassion. His final advice to his grandchildren was to “study until your eyes burn”. He read a daily devotional to two of his grandchildren from his hospital bed only days before he died.

Though he did not particularly care for accolades and praise, Manley recognized the value of such things to his law firm, so he would go along. Among other legal memberships and awards, Manley was a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers since 1985 and chaired its state of Georgia committee in 1994. Manley was a member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the State Bar of Georgia, the Macon Bar Association, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the William Augustus Bootle Inn of Court and was a Champion member of the Georgia Trial Lawyer’s Association. The State Bar General Practice and Trial Section recognized Manley with its Tradition of Excellence Award in 1997, and he also served on the State Bar Disciplinary Board from 1983-1986 and the Georgia Board of Bar Examiners from 1995-1999. Manley was named the Georgia Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Georgia section of the American Board of Trial Advocates in 1998. Manley dearly loved Mercer University’s School of Law and received its Meritorious Service Award in 1994, and its Outstanding Alumnus Award in 2017. Finally, the law school named its Distinguished Adjunct Professor Award after Manley, and he was its first recipient in 2010.

A member of Vineville Baptist Church for fifty-seven years, Manley served as a trustee of the church and taught the Al Smith Sunday School class for many years.

Second to his love for and faith in Jesus Christ, Manley loved his family. He is survived by his wife of sixty-two years, Jean Crawford Brown. He is also survived by three children, their spouses and six grandchildren. Philip and his wife Julie Seale Brown of Macon are the parents of Catherine and Harrison Brown. Kathleen and her husband Joshua Pierce of Asheville, North Carolina are parents to Jackson Pierce. Matthew and his wife Megan Righter Brown of Cullowhee, North Carolina have three children, Matthew, Benjamin and Lucy. Manley is also survived by beloved nieces, nephews and cousins. To his family, he was known as “Pop”, and we will forever miss his presence. The men of his family will be pallbearers at his services with the addition of Chris Clark and Greg Currey in Macon and David Shuler in Cullowhee.

Among the many friends Manley loved and respected are honorary pallbearers Bob Hicks, Hardy Gregory, Jr., Kice Stone, Lamar W. Sizemore, Jr., Rusty Simpson, Ruth C. Shuler, Martha Christian, Charles R. Adams, III, Chuck Byrd, Harold Ensley, E.V. Gouge, Jarome E. Gautreaux, Tracey L. Dellacona and Julie Carter. Hank T. O’Neal, III, Alex Davis, Tommy Day Wilcox, William Augustas Bootle and Larry Crawford are fondly remembered.

Funeral services will be held in Macon at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 15th, at Vineville Baptist Church with a time of visitation afterwards. Judge Marc Treadwell and the Reverends Greg Pope and Bill Hardee will officiate. Manley will be buried beside Cullowhee Baptist Church in Cullowhee, North Carolina following a service at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 21st. The Reverends Steve Cothran and Todd Young will officiate. In lieu of flowers, anyone wishing to make a donation in Manley’s memory can please consider Vineville Baptist Church, Cullowhee Baptist Church or the O’Neal & Brown Scholarship Fund at Mercer University’s School of Law. Snow’s Funeral Home in Macon and Appalachian Funeral Home in Sylva, North Carolina have charge of arrangements.

“Time like an ever-rolling stream bears all of its souls away.”