Paul Herbert Brown

Gary Brown, Columbus, OH;

Doug Brown (Bren Ahearn), Philadelphia, PA;

Diane Brown-Spiess (John Spiess), Sarasota, FL;

and his grandchildren:

Ryan Spiess, Wausau, WI;

Courtney Spiess, Atlanta, GA

Family will receive friends on Tuesday, April 11, 2023 from 2:00-3:30 PM at Schoedinger Worthington at 6699 N High Street, with a memorial service to follow at 3:30 PM and a reception after.

Paul was born in Youngstown, Ohio on February 9, 1933 to his parents Elwin and May Herbert-Brown. He is predeceased by his older brother Jack Brown and Jack’s wife Marion.

Growing up he enjoyed spending time in Mill Creek Park, including a summer camp counselor job as a teenager at the adjacent Fresh Air Camp.

Paul and Gail met during high school in Youngstown at a party during a big winter snowstorm. They were at a friend’s house where people had gathered to watch a new color TV. At that time, color televisions were new technology and not many people had them. He graduated from South High School in 1951. Paul attended Ohio University from 1951-1953. He left school and enlisted in the Army and served from 1953-1955 during the end of the Korean War.

Paul returned to Ohio and married Gail in Youngstown in 1956. They soon moved to Columbus where Paul enrolled in The Ohio State University and Gail began her teaching career. In 1960 Paul graduated from Ohio State with a degree in landscape architecture and began his life-long career in the profession.

Paul and Gail began their family in the early 1960’s and moved to Upper Arlington. Just about every summer, the family vacationed for a week at the beach. Favorite locations included Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach, Kiawah Island, and Fripp Island. Paul also liked driving on long road trips, including two cross-country trips with Gail to California. One of Paul and Gail’s favorite road trips was driving down the west coast on Highway 1 from Seattle to Los Angeles.

Early in their marriage, while Gail managed the young household with three children, Paul joined two other business partners to form a private practice landscape architecture firm specializing in commercial and institutional projects. After that business partnership dissolved, Paul continued to work in the field, eventually settling into his own private practice.

In 1990 Paul was held hostage at the US Embassy in Kuwait City for four months following the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein. At the time, Paul was working for a multi-national engineering firm in Kuwait City. Paul returned home after that harrowing experience and eased into retirement.

Paul really liked to play golf and looked forward every spring to when it would be warm enough to play again. He was an avid reader who preferred mysteries and suspense novels. He also loved doing crossword puzzles. For many years in the 1970’s he planted a large vegetable garden in the backyard, growing his favorites including tomatoes, peppers, radishes, corn, and squash. Up until last year, he continued taking care of his lawn and the many flowers he planted every year. One of his favorite things to do was to sit out on the deck in the backyard while he enjoyed his carefully tended garden.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Paul’s memory to Covenant Presbyterian Church Upper Arlington-SOS Food Pantry. https://covenantpcusa.org/giving