Charles Milton Brown

Charles Milton "Milt" Brown of Kokomo died at age 98 on February 27, 2025. He was born in Chicago, IL on January 17, 1927. He married his beloved wife, Helen L. (Seitz) Brown on December 19, 1948, and she passed away on May 21, 2012. He lived in Kokomo, IN from 1951 until the present and was a member of Grace United Methodist Church in Kokomo for more than 65 years. He volunteered for Meals on Wheels and The Samaritan Caregivers. He was a long time member of Club Kokomo Roadrunners and a member of the Club Kokomo Hall of Fame.

He lived in South Bend, IN from 1931 until 1951, was an Eagle Scout and graduated from Washington-Clay High School in 1944 where he played basketball and ran track. He held the St. Joseph County half mile running record. Milt was in the U.S. Navy from 1944-46 as a Signalman and served on the USS Argonne for 4 months and the captured Japanese battleship, Nagato, in the Pacific for 7 months after the end of WW II and sailed on the Nagato from Tokyo Bay to Bikini Atoll in the Pacific for the Atomic bomb tests in 1946.

He attended Ball State Teachers College from 1946-49 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree in 1950 and a Master of Arts degree in Education in 1960. He ran track and cross-country at Ball State, earned seven major letters and held the mile and two-mile records. He was a licensed Indiana High School track starter and official for 25 years and volunteered for more than 50 years at the Kokomo Relays, Sectional and Regional and other high school track meets.

His hobbies were vegetable gardening, running, walking, traveling and woodworking. He made many pieces of furniture for their home and for other family members and friends. He taught and coached sports at Ervin School in the Northwestern School System from 1951-1960 and taught and coached basketball, track, softball and cross- country in elementary and middle grades at Bon Air School in Kokomo from 1960-1989.

He was a member of the Howard County Retired Teachers, the Indiana State Retired Teachers, and the Garden Wall Garden Club and was an insurance agent for Columbus Life for about 44 years.

Surviving are a son and daughter-in-law, Dr. Gregory Brown and Dr. Sandy Brown, a daughter and son-in-law, Jill and Bob Cooke, a sister, Donna Clapp, Grandchildren Emily Varin (Matt), Zack (Nicolette) Cooke, Jason Brown, Anne (Stefan) Houff, Great-granddaughters, Isabel Cooke and Kaija Houff, Great-grandsons, Max Cooke and Boden Houff.

Preceding him in death were his parents, Charles A. Brown and Hallie Marie Brown, brother and sister-in-law, Richard Brown and Trudy Brown, brother in­ law and sister-in-law, Robert Osborn and Dorothy Osborn, brother-in-law Robert Clapp, brother Jim Brown and sister-in-law Becky Brown, brother, Don Brown, brother-in-law Eugene Seitz and sister-in-law Jean Seitz and very close friend and loving companion for five years, Myrna Tappan, who passed away on Feb.12, 2018.

A ceremony celebrating Milt’s life will be held at Grace United Methodist Church at 219 W. Mulberry Street, Kokomo IN 46901 on Sunday March 23rd 2025. Visitation will be at 2 pm and the Memorial Service at 3 pm.