Lee Martin Brown

Lee Martin Brown, 90 passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday night, January 12. He was born January 29, 1925, the middle child of three, and raised during the depression by a single mother in New Haven, Connecticut. He graduated from New Haven’s Commercial High and was drafted into the Army to fight in World War II. He applied and was accepted into the elite fighting unit of the Army Rangers. Upon completion of his Ranger training in Georgia, he was deployed as a member of D-Day’s legendary 5th Ranger Battalion. Brown’s battalion stormed Omaha Beach in Normandy in the first wave of assaults on June 6, 1944. Following the battle at Normandy, his battalion joined General Patton’s 3rd Army fighting in The Battle of the Bulge and racing across the continent to liberate Europe. He and his battalion liberated the German concentration camp, Buchenwald. Brown earned multiple medals and citations for his actions during the war. In 2009, he was chosen by the President of France and was bestowed their highest honor for valor, the Chevalier (Knight) of the French Legion of Honor. Lee never forgot about his brief time in Georgia during his Ranger training and in 1950, he returned to marry his Georgia peach, Forsyth County’s Helen Grace Tribble. He served as a member and deacon at First Baptist Chamblee from 1956-1977 and as a member and deacon at First Baptist Roswell from 1977 to present. He is survived by his beloved wife of 65 years Helen, their two sons, David and Phil, their wives, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Brown worked some 35 years as an Operations Executive with W. D. Alexander Co. in Atlanta retiring at 62. Soon following his retirement, he decided it wasn’t for him and took a job as a Walmart Greeter where he continued for almost a quarter-of-a-century. Affectionately known to thousands of customers as “Mr. Lee,” he deemed it the greatest position he ever held. He retired the second time just a few short months ago at 90, a beloved and iconic friend to all who ever had the pleasure of meeting him. A visitation for Lee will be held at Roswell Funeral Home on Friday, January 15th from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The funeral service is scheduled for Saturday, January 16th at 11:00 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Roswell, 710 Mimosa Blvd, Roswell, GA; the interment will immediately follow at Green Lawn Cemetery.