Willie Brown

Funeral service will take place at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, June 19, 2010, at True Vine Baptist Church, 2930 Janes Street. Rev. Paul E. Broaddus, Pastor. Pastor Emeritus Roosevelt Austin, Sr. will officiate with interment in Eastlawn Memorial Gardens. Friends may call at Browne's Mortuary, 441 N. Jefferson Ave., on Friday from 2:00 until 8:00 p.m. The family will be present from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. Mr. Willie Brown passed away Monday, June 14, 2010, at the age of 78 years. He was born July 4, 1931, in Bishopville, SC, the son of Eddie and Mary (McDaniel) Brown. He was baptized at an early age at St. Mark Baptist Church in Bishopville, SC. Mr. Brown was a faithful member of True Vine Baptist Church and was a member of the Male Chorus, Gospel Choir and Mass Choir. He retired from General Motors after 38 years of service and was a member of UAW Local 668. Mr. Brown leaves to cherish precious memories, his wife of 27 years, Vivian Keys Brown; 2 daughters, Tanya Alexander, Saginaw, MI and C. Michelle Jones, West Bloomfield, MI; 4 sons, Bennie (Mary Ward) Brown, Robbie Brown, all of Saginaw, MI, Bobby Bowman, Minneapolis, MN and Jackie Pearson, Bishopville, SC; those whom he helped raise: nephew, James (Kimberly) Simon; stepson, Joseph (Robin) Lay; grandsons, Allen (Teriesha) Fields and Benny (Miayanna) Brown, Jr.; stepchildren, Mattie Leonard, Cincinnati, OH and George Lay, Saginaw, MI; Godchildren, Andre Brown, Bettina Redeemer, Kasharra Patterson, Kiara Brown and Monique Booth; 13 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren; a host of nieces and nephews; sisters-in-law, Alice Brown, Saginaw, MI and Evelyn (Daniel) Keys Spears, Angleton, TX; mother-in-law, Ethel Keys, Wisner, LA; and a host of relatives and friends, including special friends, Curtis Burgess, Joshua Hicks, Willie Spencer, Earnest Matthews, Demarion Brown, Cederic Adams, Ledell Lenoir, his Marie Davis Center friends and Monday and Wednesday Twin Oaks Golf League friends. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Lorraine Smith Brown; son, Willie Edward Brown, brother, Thomas Brown, Sr., and granddaughter, Tairra Brown.

Willie Brown

July 4, 1931 - June 14, 2010