John C. Brown, 95, of Nelsonville, Ohio, passed away into the loving hands of his Savior on October 1, 2019, at the VA Hospital in Chillicothe, Ohio following a brief illness.
He leaves behind his wife of 69 years, Rozella (Brockman) Brown; and their nine children, daughters, Linda Stover, Sue Ham, Carla Bedunah, and Paula Burt and sons, John R., Victor, Roger, Jay and Luther; 17 grandchildren; 17 great grandchildren; and many extended family and friends.
Mr. Brown was born in Cardinal, KY, the son of John Arron and Mary (Saylor) Brown. John had one sister, Gladys Marie Clowers and one brother, Francis Daily Brown. At the age of 7, John started working instead of going to school. He joined the Navy at age 17, to serve in WW II, working in the boiler room on the USS West Virginia. It was during his time on the USS West Virginia that John taught himself to read and write and memorize the Bible. He attended two years at Northwest Bible School. John’s hunger for learning led him into his hobby of handwriting analysis. He taught himself the written patterns and physical characteristics of handwriting. He amazed people by being able to identify their personality traits. He shared this gift widely with almost everyone he met.
After serving in the Navy, John met and married his wife, Rozella, who lived just across the street in Cincinnati. John was working for Boilermakers Union 105 when he was assigned to help build the Poston Power Plant in Nelsonville. He was so impressed by the area he moved his young family from Cincinnati to Nelsonville in 1954. He retired from the Boilermakers in 1989, although he remained active with the union attending annual meetings, mentoring and encouraging friends and new members. In all, he spent 75 years in this field.
Mr. Brown was a world traveler and was most happy when on the go. He made many trips to the Philippines to rest and meditate. John visited friends and relatives all over the United States, Japan, Canada, and Indonesia. He was a frequent guest at McDonald’s in Nelsonville where he took his youngest son, Luke, back and forth every day he worked for 20 years.
John was a greatly blessed, highly favored, imperfect but forgiven child of God.
Services were Friday, October 4, 2019, at the Warren Brown Funeral Home, Nelsonville, Ohio, with calling hours from 11 am to 1 pm, and the funeral service at 1 pm. Burial was in Whitmore Cemetery where Military Graveside services were conducted by the Combined Color Guard.