William L. Brown

William L. (Bill) Brown, Retired Senior Chief USN, age 91, of Hamilton, passed away on Friday, April 17, 2015. He was born in Hamilton, Ohio on July 14, 1923, the son of Beverly A. and Sarah C. (Long) Brown. On October 23, 1948 he married LaVerne Gatliff in Hamilton. Bill enlisted in the United States Navy in November, 1940. After leaving boot camp, he was assigned to the USS New Mexico BB40. This ship operated out of Iceland, running convoys of material to within a few miles of England through U-Boat invested waters. During these convoys, he witnessed the sinking of several German U-Boats. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the ship was sent back to the Pacific Fleet and then participated in the bombardment of the Aleutian Islands, the Gilbert Island Campaign, Marshall Islands, Kwajalein Island and the recapture of Guam. Bill served aboard battleships, destroyers, minesweepers and a repair ship. Bill and LaVerne moved to Valparaiso, Chile, South America and served three and a half years with the military advisor group. Returning to the States, Bill worked as an Electronics Instructor at the Great Lakes Naval Electronics School. During his naval career, Bill was awarded the Good Conduct 5 Awards, American Defense, American Campaign, Pacific Campaign, WWII Victory and Combat Victory Ribbon with five battle stars. Bill retired from the United States Navy after 30 years of duty. Chief Brown was a veteran of three wars: WWII, Korea and Vietnam. After retiring from the Navy, Bill taught Electronics at Garfield High School for fourteen years, retiring in 1983. Upon retirement, Bill and his wife LaVerne travelled to all 50 states, mostly by their motor home. Bill enjoyed fishing, golfing and a good game of cards. One of Bill's proudest golf moments was his hole-in-one on July 29, 2005 at Mt. Vernon golf course. Bill was a life member of the Elks Lodge #2378, AMVETS Post #1983, VFW Post #7670, Monkey Mutual Aid Society and Past President of the Optimist Club. Survivors include his daughter, Beverly (Dan) Childs of Fairfield; sister-in-law, Zelma Miller; two nephews, William M. (Kathy) Campbell of Hamilton and Tim Taylor of New Mexico, as well as great-nephews, William T. Campbell and Tristan M. Taylor. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, LaVerne (2009); two sisters and their husbands, Kay (William) Campbell and Sally (Pete) Hamilton; mother-in-law Evelyn Hollingsworth; brother-in-law, Frank Miller and nephew, Peter Paul Hamilton.