Wayne Allen Brown

Wayne Allen Brown was a modest man, quiet and observant in his ways. He was trustworthy and traditional in his approach to his life and in his relationships. He was tough-minded with the kind of “stick to it” attitude that earned the respect of all who knew him. He was also a man who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything he undertook. Realistic about life, he was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

Wayne was born on September 11, 1943 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland, Oregon. His parents were Marvin and Margaret Brown. Wayne was raised in Portland, Or and Rosemond, Ca. He was raised with two sisters, Bea and Carol.

Wayne and his siblings may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but Wayne was always consistently loyal to his family.

As a young child, Wayne was never someone who needed to be the center of attention. He wasn’t pushy and never forced his way into games or other activities. Wayne developed a variety of interests, though, and the things he enjoyed doing he did well. He was always curious about the world around him and was often eager to explore it. He enjoyed chess and photography.

While his teachers and even his friends generally thought of Wayne as being a serious person, he managed to have a pretty good time in high school as he made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. He graduated from Franklin High School in 1961. He enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite classes and teachers. His favorite class in high school was math. The teacher he enjoyed learning from the most was Mr. Murrai. Wayne was a very logical person who enjoyed learning about factual information. Using his exceptional memory, he was able to learn much through observation. Wayne always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though he could easily master any problem that might be presented to him.

College life brought with it a new set of challenges, but Wayne handled them well. Being a critical thinker who always remained intellectually independent, Wayne was able to focus on the task at hand in order to complete his class work. He seemed to thrive on college reading assignments, something that often bogged down his classmates. The ability to efficiently complete the task at hand was a skill that served Wayne well during his college experience. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Portland State University. One of his favorite courses was Shakespearean Literature.

Always considered to be a solid friend, Wayne was fortunate to have numerous acquaintances and several very close friends during his life. Since he disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw his own conclusions based on direct observation, Wayne was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew him. He was committed to his friends and valued the trust he placed in them. It was not uncommon for Wayne to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought him out for advice because he had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. While growing up, some of his best friends were Bob Batterman, Bob Parker, and Michael Downing. Later in life, he became friends with Kent McNiven, Terry Bingham, and he remained close friends with Bob Parker.

In 1963 Wayne exchanged wedding vows with Judith Ann Discasey at the First Friend's Church of Portland, Oregon. Compassionate and devoted to Judy, Wayne held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. He took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it his total commitment. He was a source of strength to Judy and using his gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, he worked hard to make his new family happy.

Wayne greatly enjoyed what he did for a living. He was a hard worker who expected the same in return from his co-workers. He was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Wayne enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Wayne was excellent at meeting deadlines. He was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. His primary occupation was as an accountant. He was employed for 23 years with Halton Tractor, 8 years with the Cat Adoption Team (CAT), and 5 years with Interstate Bank. Wayne worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.

Wayne liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into his hobbies, where he was very methodical in how he organized his activities and categorized things. Since he enjoyed his private time, Wayne always tried to allocate a specific time for working on his hobbies. His favorite pursuits involved music and computer technology.

Wayne enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. Since he was an early starter and had a knack for planning everything, traveling with Wayne appeared effortless. He enjoyed researching all of his examined options and applying cost-effective planning techniques. Plus, no matter where he traveled, Wayne always had a back up plan at the ready, just in case. Favorite vacations included trips to Hawaii.

Wayne was a lover of animals and cherished his pets. One of Wayne’s favorites was Bartholomew, a cat. They were best friends for 13 years. His family was rounded out by his other cats, Alley, Jenny-Fur, and Nipper.

When Wayne’s retirement finally arrived in 1992, he was well prepared. He always trusted and placed value in what was logical and in the things he knew, so he was very confident in planning his retirement. He had begun the process early and had his retirement all laid out well in advance. In retirement, he found new pleasure in volunteering for C. A. T. Even in retirement, Wayne continued to stay in touch with his old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances. He was active in his new community and felt fulfilled.

Wayne Allen Brown passed away on May 29, 2010 at Providence Saint Vincent's Medical Center in Portland, Oregon due to complications resulting from congestive heart failure. He is survived by his wife of almost 47 years, Judy; sisters, Bea Allgood of Nebraska and Carol Seiffert of Portland; and many nieces and nephews. Services will be held at 12pm, Saturday, June 12, 2010 in Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home. Wayne will be laid to rest in Lincoln Memorial Park, Cityview Estates in Portland, Oregon.

Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Wayne Allen Brown. He was committed to living the life of a good man who was both practical and trustworthy. He was committed to the traditional values that he upheld his entire life. He committed himself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around him. Most of all, he was committed to those he knew and loved.