Robert M. Brown

Robert Madison Brown was born April 16, 1931, in Glendale, California, to Ernest and Helen Brown. He died Friday, October 28, 2016, at his home in Schleswig, Iowa, at the age of eighty-five.
The family lived in Pasadena for many years, where Bob attended grade school. He accepted Christ as his personal Savior and was baptized at the age of 12. At the age of 15, he was involved in a near-fatal accident, and while in the hospital contracted polio, causing a permanent partial loss of his voice. Bob later attended Pasadena City College and Whittier College. Bob played the trumpet in several bands, proudly playing in the Pasadena Official Tournament of Roses Band and marching in the New Year’s Rose Parade and playing in the Rose Bowl on several occasions. In 1952, Bob was hired as an engineer with the Associated Telephone Company (later known as General Telephone Company and eventually becoming Verizon), retiring in 1983.
On November 6, 1971, Bob married Nancy Joan Beck at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Claremont, California. Along with Bob’s son Robert, Jr., and Nancy’s daughter Corinne, the family moved to Crestline in the San Bernardino Mountains of California, living there for a number of years. While in Crestline, they owned and operated a cooking business, providing meals to church groups and family get-togethers coming to the mountains for weekend stays. The family enjoyed many camping trips from the desert to the mountains, camping in a tent trailer, camping trailers, and in later years a converted Greyhound bus. In 2004 Bob and Nancy moved to an acreage in Kiron, Iowa, moving to Schleswig in 2014. In 2015 they traveled to California to visit friends and re-visit some old camping grounds.
Bob had many interests over the years, collecting, restoring and driving vintage cars, including an Army ambulance, a number of fire trucks, a hearse (still used on Halloween) and several buses. Over the years he had bought over 100 vehicles. He enjoyed handing out pamphlets and brochures regarding his faith and visiting nursing homes. Bob and Nancy would soon have been celebrating their 45th anniversary and remembering many happy years together.
Bob was preceded in death by his parents. He leaves behind his wife, Nancy, his son, Robert Jr. (California), and Nancy’s daughter, Cori (New York) and her daughters; Allison and Elise of Michigan.