Mr. Allen Jackson Brown, 95, of Auburn has gone home to Heaven. Born on a farm in Cleburne County, Alabama and raised with his nine brothers and sisters by their parents, Miles Edward Brown and Sarah Margaret Burchfield Brown, was, as he said, either cursed or blessed with a “love of the land”. He was saved by God’s grace in a county church and baptized in Lower Cane Creek.
He and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Shockley were classmates at Heflin High School, graduating in 1942; they did not court until both found themselves in Auburn after Allen completed a stint as a Navy pilot trainee during WWII. Even though he intended to return to farming as soon as he got home, his eldest sister Nellie insisted he and three of his brother’s go to college and already had them enrolled at Alabama Polytechnic Institute in Auburn. After graduation with a B.S. in Agricultural Science in 1947, he became the Assistant County Agent in Bullock County (Union Springs).
He became reacquainted with Mary E. Shockley and they were married in 1949. Their only child, Camilla Anne, was born in 1952. In 1961, after earning a M.S. in Agricultural Economics from Auburn in 1960 he moved his family to Auburn to serve on the faculty as a specialist in various disciplines with the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service.
Allen retired after thirty years of service in 1977. Beginning during this time in Union Springs, he and his brother, Grady, were partners in farming in Macon County. He farmed for almost twenty years after retirement from Auburn University.
Mr. Brown was a hunter and fisherman, but most of all, he loved his gardens of vegetables and roses. He often said his gardening and yard work were his therapy. Many people over the years benefitted from his green thumb and his valuable advice when it came to making things grow and flourish—not only in God’s creation but in their lives.
After fifty-eight years of a Christ-centered marriage, Mary graduated to Heaven in 2007. After Mary’s death his granddaughter, Deanna, continued to live with him while she attended Auburn. In 2011, Allen married Nancy Wagner.
Even in his senior years he stayed active in Christian service in his church, Parkway Baptist, and in the community as a member of various groups and social circles. Allen Brown was a man who lived Psalm 37:23 “the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord”. He was truly interested in people and was full of good advice and encouragement for everyone.
His wit was incomparable; he always had a rejoinder or saying for any situation. Mr. Brown is survived by his daughter, Camilla Anne Brown Reid (David) of Augusta, Georgia; grandson, David Griffin Reid (Megan) of Cedar Falls, Iowa; granddaughter, Mary Deanna Reid Blackwell (John) of Auburn, Alabama; great-grandchildren: Abigail Anne Blackwell, Jonah David Reid, Mary Mae Blackwell, and Theophilus Allen Wilbert Reid; and his wife, Nancy Lee Rutherford Wagner Brown. Also, special to him were his many attentive nieces and nephews and Nancy’s family who adopted him as one of their own.
Visitation will be Tuesday, September 18, 2018 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home, 1500 Frederick Road, Opelika, Alabama 36801. The funeral service will be Wednesday, September 19, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. at Parkway Baptist Church in Auburn. Burial is at Memorial Park Cemetery, Samford Avenue in Auburn.
The family respectfully declines the gift of flowers and suggests memorials may be directed to Parkway Baptist Church 766 E. University Drive, Auburn, Alabama 36830 or The Navigators Gift Processing Center, P.O. Box 6079, Albert Lea, MN 56007-6679 (#126961 in memo line). Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home is directing. www.
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