Joseph Bernard Brown

May 13, 1925-December 7, 2011

Joe was born May 13th, 1925 to Lewis Otho and Georgia Amanda Brown and passed away on December 7, 2011. He was born and raised on a farm in Hobbsville, North Carolina and graduated from Hobbsville High School in April of 1943.

He entered the Army in December of 1943, taking training at Abilene, Texas and Denver, Colorado. He spent the rest of his Military Career in the South Pacific and Tokyo. He was discharged on February 20, 1946. After working at a few odd jobs, he joined the Air Force, stationed in Colorado and Castle Air Force Base, California. He married Mary Ella West in November of 1949 and was discharged from the Air Force the following month. In March of 1950, Joe started working for Valley Propane Companies until 1974. He worked for Shannon Pump Company until retiring in 1993.

Joe belonged to Eagles 2194 of Merced and Merced Old Timers Assoc. He enjoyed traveling, hunting, car races, but most of all his family.

Joe was preceded in death by his 1st wife of 50 years, Mary Ella Brown; son, Orvil LeRoy West; parents, Lewis Otho and Georgia Amanda Brown; sister, Margaret Louise Blythe of Portsmouth, Virginia; brother, Walter B Brown of Hobbsville, North Carolina; and great grandson, Andrew Newton.

Joe is survived by his wife, Geraldine Brown of Merced; son, Hershel West (Marion)of Merced; daughters, Velma Gonzalez (Johnny) of Modesto, Georgia Dozier (Roger) of Atwater; son, Joseph Gerald Brown (Joyce) of Merced; stepson, Lee Cansler of Atwater; stepdaughter, Karen Montano of Merced; 14 grandchildren; 21 great grandchildren; and 4 great great grandchildren.

Visitation is on Friday, December 16, 2011 from 2:00pm-7:00pm at Stratford Evans Merced Funeral Home. Memorial services are Saturday, December 17, 2011 at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 2916 N. McKee Rd., Merced, CA at 11:00am. Memorial contributions can be made to the Veterans Hospital, 3801 Miranda Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94304.

Arrangements under the direction of Stratford Evans Merced Funeral Home, Merced, CA.