James Willis Brown

Jim was born on March 20, 1941 in Virginia City to Wanda and Willis Brown. He was raised in Elko Nevada by his grandparents Arrana and Jack Rice, and enjoyed hunting, fishing, football and track. He attended the University of Utah on a football scholarship and boxed golden glove level during those years. He graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering in 1963 and began his career in the paper industry, or corrugated, as Jim would say.

He was drafted in 1968 as one of the oldest Army recruits but went on to win the coveted Distinguished Trainee Award in Fort Ord, California, graduating first in his class of 1000. Jim trained at Camp Sitman during the Vietnam era, obtaining the rank of Sergeant. He fought on the Korean DMZ as an Imjin Scout, where he was injured and returned home to civilian life.

Jim reentered the paper industry where he enjoyed a very successful career building and managing paper mills. He retired at the age of 65. During those working years he held leadership roles in the community, serving as president of his local Lions Club and national education director in Rolling Thunder National (POW/MIA). Jim was a Mason and enjoyed volunteering at the Veterans Hospital and trap shooting on a professional level. He was an avid hunter, golfer, white water rafter, sky diver and excelled at every sport that interested him. His varied interests also included woodcarving, poetry, music, painting, archeology, photography, and technology.

Jim was quick witted and was known to have a fine sense of humor that you had to listen closely to in order to fully appreciate. He was generous to a fault and gave freely of his time and attention. He was a strong man who knew how to be kind and gentle. He was a patriot who loved his country. Jim was a spiritual man, strongly connected to the internal and external world around him. He was brilliant, with a thirst for knowledge that never dimmed. He was well known and respected by his coworkers and peers and deeply loved by his neighbors and friends. His family played a prominent role in his life and he cherished them all.

He is survived by his wife, Lisa; children Kristina (William) Cruse, Daniel (Elizabeth) Brown; sisters Arloa Virginia (Ralph) Mantz, and Susan Kilburn; brothers Glenn (Dina) Brown, and Daniel (Jayme) Brown; and grandchildren Nicholas (Abby) Love, Brianna Lovensheimer, and Hudson Brown as well as many beloved nieces and nephews.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.palmnorthwest.com for the Brown family.