Henry L. Brown

Henry L. Brown, age 92, died January 20, 2012 at Hospice of Wake County. He was born on March 2, 1919, to Lillian Norris Brown and George Washington Brown, of Elizabeth City, NC. He was predeceased by his loving wife of 63 years, Miriam C. Brown, by his parents and an infant sister, Mary Louise.

His survivors are daughters, Barbara Brown Peek and her husband Robert, of Apex, NC, Rosalyn Brown Winter, and her husband Kenneth, of Siler City, NC; four grandchildren, Alyson Peek Connor, of Apex, NC, Lori Peek, of Huntsville, AL, Brad Winter, of Portland, OR and Brandon Winter, of Davis, CA; and three great-grandchildren and a sister, Annie Brown Frye.

Henry graduated from Elizabeth City High School in 1937 and graduated from Mars Hill College in 1940. Following graduation from Mars Hill, he was employed by the Morris Plan Bank of Washington, DC. He was drafted by the US Army in June of 1941. In November of 1942, he graduated from Officers Training school at Fort Benning, Georgia, as a 2nd Lieutenant, US Army. Lieutenant Brown was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 306th Infantry, 77th Division in Fort Jackson, SC. All of his combat duty was with the 77th Division in the South Pacific. He commanded an Infantry Communication Platoon of 22 men in the Asiatic South Pacific Area. His duties were to establish and maintain communication under actual combat conditions. He also served as Adjutant for the 3rd Battalion, 306th Infantry, 77th Division. He was responsible for the administration and command of 112 men in combat and for implementing the policies of the commanding office. He was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, Bronze Star, and a Purple Heart. He was discharged from the US Army in May, 1946 with the rank of Captain.

After returning to civilian life, he joined the sales organization of Pilot Life Insurance Company in Greenville, NC. After joining Pilot Life, Henry attended Southern Methodist University for advanced studies in insurance and marketing.

In 1950, Henry and his family, transferred to Winston-Salem, NC with Pilot Life Insurance. In 1955, be became the General Agent for Pilot Life in Raleigh, NC. Henry was the President of the N.C. Association of Life Underwriters, 1960-1961. In 1968, he was recognized as “Man of the Year” by both the State Life Underwriters and the local Life Underwriters of Raleigh. He retired in 1981 from Pilot Life Insurance Company.

Henry and his wife, Miriam were members of Ridge Road Baptist Church for many years. Henry served as a Deacon. He was a member of the North Raleigh Rotary Club and Raleigh Golf Association. He served on the Board of Trustees at Mars Hill College.

His family and friends gratefully appreciated his loving and generous nature, his sense of humor, and the way he lived his life with gusto! He will certainly be missed by his family.

A service to celebrate his life will be held at Ridge Road Baptist Church on Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 2:00 PM. Family will receive friends one hour prior to the service from 1:00 PM until 2:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice of Wake County – 250 Hospice Circle – Raleigh, NC 27609.