W.F. Brown

W. F. "Bill" Brown, Jr., age 81, of Main Street, died Wednesday, September 17, 2003, at Conway Medical Center. Mr. Brown was born in Iva, S.C., a son of the late William Fletcher and Sally Ophelia Patterson Brown. He was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church, where he served on many commttees and in many offices within the local church. He was Chairman of the Sanctuary Building Committee 1981, and served as District Lay Leader for the Marion District for several years. Mr. Brown owned/operated Gateway Ford in Conway. He rang the bell for the Salvation Army, served as president and was a lifetime member of the board. He was a longtime member and former president of the Conway Chamber of Commerce and the Conway Rotary Club where he was selected as Rotarian of the year in 1974. Mr. Brown was a longtime volunteer with the United Way and Chairman of the 1979 Campaign for Horry County and served as president in 1981. He helped create and foster the Horry County Industrial Development Board from 1981-1983. Mr. Brown was inducted into the Red Cross Blood Donor Hall of Fame in 1985 and donated 20 gallons of blood to the Red Cross. He served on the Horry County Literacy Council Board for 10 years and served two terms as Horry County Councilman 1986-1992. Mr. Brown was selected as Conway's "Man of the Year" in 1978 and was two-time recipient of the Sertoma Club's "Service to Mankind Award" 1976 & 1983. He was a US Navy Veteran of WWII and was predeceased by a daughter Rebecca Brown and two sisters, Lydia Brown Lowie and Mildred Brown McIlvain and a brother Robert M. Brown. Surviving are his wife, Nita Gentry Brown of Conway; one son, William F. Brown, III of Lexington; two daughters, Sally Suzanne Brown of Garner, NC, and Marie Brown Strock and her husband Berry of Melbourne Beach, FL; two brothers, George E. Brown of W. Columbia, SC and H. Patterson Brown of High Point, NC; two sisters, Mary E. Brown of Columbia, SC and Carolyn Brown Mattox of Clemson; four grandchildren, Sam Hodgin, Jonathan Strock, Anna Strock and Christian Strock. Funeral services will be held 10:00 AM Friday at Trinity United Methodist Church with Rev. Carl Hunsucker and Rev. Jeff Kersey officiating. Burial will follow at 3:00 PM in Greenlawn Memorial Park in Columbia, directed by Goldfinch Funeral Home, Conway Chapel. Memorials may be made to Trinity United Methodist Church, 198 Long Avenue, Conway, SC 29526 or to the Salvation Army of Conway, PO Box 588, Conway, SC 29528 or give a pint of blood through the American Red Cross.

Tributes

W.F. Brown

September 17, 2003