John
Russell Brown, 65, of Shelby, passed away the morning of March 12, 2009 at
the Marias Medical Center following a lengthy battle with cancer. Visitation
will be Wednesday, March 18, 2009 from 1-8:00 pm at the Whitted Funeral Chapel
in Shelby. Funeral services are set for Thursday, March 19, 2009 at 1:00 pm at
the Whitted Funeral Chapel in Shelby. Interment with military honors will
follow in the Mountain View Cemetery. Condolences may be posted to
www.whittedfuneralchapel.com.
John Russell Brown was born on July 9, 1943 in Washington DC to Harry E and Katherine Aletta (Harvey) Brown, Jr. John grew up in Warren, Michigan where he attended school thru the 8th grade at Roseville Jr High. At the age of 17 he enlisted in the US Marine Corps on August 29, 1960. While at Camp Pendleton, California, and throughout his 4 years of service and 2 years of reserves, John worked in food service. He earned a Marine Corps Exemplary Medal and M-14 Marksmanship Badge. He served in Okinawa and Viet Nam and was discharged honorably on August 28, 1966. His pride of serving as a Marine shined through his whole life. He enjoyed kidding anyone that served in another branch of service but before leaving would shake their hand and let them know he was proud they had served also.
After
completing his service years, John moved to the West Coast and worked at the
Boeing factory and then worked his first long haul truck driver adventure. In
the 1970’s, he drove to Great Falls in his VW Beetle and hitch-hiked to Shelby
in search of work. One of his first memories of Montana was during his hitch to
Shelby and seeing the Sweet Grass Hills from a distance in July still with snow
covering them and wondering what he had gotten himself into! John helped build
the Shelby High School Vo-Tech building and went on to own his own roofing
company in Shelby. He also worked for Donny Nelson, whom he considered one of
his best friends.
In 1988, he met Sheila Linderman through his position with the City of Shelby and they were married in February 1989. In October of 1992, John adopted Cassi whom he considered always to be his baby girl from the time he met her and Sheila in 1988. In 1990 Aletta was born and in 1992 their family was complete when Laci arrived.
In 2000 his next adventure throughout the United States as a long haul trucker began and went until his retirement in 2005.
John enjoyed fixing small appliances, showing off his 1976 Chevy ‘hot rod’ truck, watching NFL Football and the Detroit Lions, spending time with his 4 girls and visiting with his friends. In his younger life he enjoyed playing the drums.
Survivors include his wife of 20 years, Sheila, of Shelby; his daughters, Cassi, Aletta, and Laci and step-son, Richard Potter, all of Shelby; mother-in-law, Ruby Linderman of Scobey; Harry E. Brown III as well as three nephews and many friends. He was preceded in death by his parents; step-mother; father-in-law; two brothers; and two uncles.