William Boyd (Bill) Brown of Charlotte went home to be with His Lord Monday evening, October 22, 2012. He was born in Caldwell County, North Carolina, and grew up in Burke County.
After high school in Glen Alpine, North Carolina, he served almost eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps and was honorably discharged with the rank of Staff Sergeant. He left the Marine Corps to marry his wife of over 45 wonderful years, Shirley Yount Brown. He also took classes in the police science department at Central Piedmont Community College. He served on the Charlotte Police Department for about four years before becoming a Deputy U.S. Marshal. After leaving the Marshals’ Service, he went into private enterprise as owner of Bill Brown Enterprises, Inc. He liked to say that he was a “jack of all trades and master of none”. Under this banner, he performed a number of jobs including private investigation, mystery shopping for Kroger and A & P, owner of the Parfait Place Restaurant in Mint Hill, and service of process.
He was a member of First Baptist Church Charlotte where he helped coordinate the homebound visitation ministry. He had previously been a member of Northside Baptist, Idlewild Baptist, and First Baptist Indian Trail. At Northside, he had the humbling experience of participating in mission trips to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. He served as a deacon while a member at Idlewild Baptist, and planned fellowship activities for his Sunday school class at First Baptist Indian Trail.
One of the things he enjoyed most was traveling. He had visited all 50 U.S. states and over 40 foreign countries. As a member of the Friendship Force of Charlotte, he served as an ambassador to several countries including Japan, Cuba, Brazil, and Peru, and attended international conferences in Bangkok, Thailand, and Budapest, Hungary. He also hosted Friendship Force ambassadors from Brazil, Japan Russia, and several U.S. cities. A highlight in foreign travel was a visit to Romania in the home of a Samaritan’s Purse shoe box recipient. His last international trip was to Israel and Jordan in January 2011.
With his outgoing personality, he never met a stranger. He enjoyed cooking, entertaining, and planning social events for church groups, the Friendship Force, and the Windsor Oaks community.
In addition to his wife, Shirley, he is survived by a brother, Maynard Brown (Pat) of Andrews, North Carolina, and a sister, Joyce Simmons (Ron) of Lady Lake, Florida, as well as a number of nieces and nephews.
Visitation will be at 12:00 Noon, Thursday, October 25, 2012, at First Baptist Church Charlotte, 301 S. Davidson Street, Charlotte, followed by a celebration of life service at 1 pm. Burial will be after the service at Gethsemane Memorial Gardens, 1504 W. Sugar Creek Road, Charlotte. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to First Baptist Church Charlotte, Friendship Force Charlotte, or Humane Society of Charlotte.
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