Wesley Herbert Brown Sr., 84, passed away Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, at Athens Limestone Hospital. Mr. Brown was born Feb. 9, 1932, in Etowah County, Alabama. He was a member of Emmanuel Baptist Church, Athens, and a United States Army veteran. Mr. Brown retired from Redstone Arsenal as a system analyst in 1994 after 34 years. In 1962, he opened his own accounting firm, Brown and Brown Accountants, where he worked until his death.
Celebration services will be 2 p.m. Tuesday at Emmanuel Baptist Church with Ron Oakley, Dan Hughes, and Mark LaRue officiating. Visitation is Tuesday from 11 a.m. until service time at Emmanuel Baptist Church. Burial is in Limestone Memorial Gardens with military honors. Pallbearers will be, Perry Drummond, Dr. Wendell Shannon, Ewell Smith, Lowell Smith, Lewell Smith, and Van Miller. Honorary pallbearers will be Bob McAbee, Rutledge Banks, Bob Vaughn, Jimmy Ray Hodges, Harold Meals, and Jerry Naylor.
Mr. Brown is survived by his wife of 63 years, Gladys Hicks Brown; son, Wes (Lynne) Brown Jr.; daughter, Jayne (Bobby) Clem; grandsons, Jonathan (Carrie) Brown and Jeremy (Britley) Brown; great-grandsons, Cade Brown and Jace Brown; sisters, Betty Byrd and Lurlene (Harold) Smith; sister-in-law, Betty (Bob) McAbee; brother-in-law, Wendell (Bobbie) Hicks; and many nieces and nephews. Mr. Brown was preceded in death by parents, Thomas and Frances Brown; brother, Tommy Brown; sisters, Mary Read, Priscilla Levinson, and Doris Read; and an infant grandson. He was also preceded in death by his father and mother-in-law, Grady and Lucy Hicks.
