William Allan Brown

Allan was born in Vine Grove, Kentucky on June 30, 1929, to parents William Harold and Florence Alsop Brown. He spent most of his youth in Irvington, Kentucky, graduating from Irvington High School in 1947. Allan graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1951 with a degree in Agriculture. Upon graduating, he served in the United States Army for two years. He was a Korean War veteran.

Allan married his wife, Bettie, on June 8th, 1958. They were blessed to be married for 52 years and share a son, William Thomas.

After his return from the war, he began a career in agriculture. Allan farmed corn and tobacco before beginning to work for the Kentucky Department of Transportation as the Division Agronomist. He retired from the KYDOT after 20 years, and began volunteering at the Kentucky Railway Museum. Allan enjoyed being the engineer on the daily KRM excursion train for many years.

Allan and his family were members at Severns Valley Baptist Church. Throughout his time in church, he served as a deacon and loyal usher. Allan shared his passion for trains with his son, Tom. Together they rode numerous trains, attended conventions, and spent lots of time train watching. He especially loved riding steam excursions behind the L&N 152. Allan was a dedicated photographer of the many trains and locations he rode and visited. He had a substantial collection of train and landscape slides and pictures. Allan was proud of his model train layout, especially when his granddaughters would come to see it. Allan and Bettie loved traveling the United States and Canada, with their most memorable trips being to Alaska, Sault St. Marie, Michigan, and Hurst, Ontario. Allan appreciated history, and spent many years doing extensive research into his family’s genealogy and creating a family tree.

Allan was preceded in death by his wife, Bettie Boyd Brown. He is survived by his son Tom Brown of Wake Forest, NC, and two grandchildren Anna Brown of Raleigh, NC, and Lydia Brown of Raleigh, NC.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, October 10th, 2024 from 12-2 PM at Brown Funeral Home, followed by a memorial service at 2 PM with Roger McCurry officiating.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Severns Valley Baptist Church or the Kentucky Railway Museum in memory of Allan Brown.