- Date Of Birth: February 03, 1940
- Date Of Death: October 15, 2021
- State: Indiana
Paul L. Brown of Gas City, Indiana passed away in the early morning hours of Friday, October 15, 2021 in his daughter’s home surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Marion, IN to William “Virgil” Brown and Pearl “Irene” (Young) Brown who both preceded him in death. He was the 6th of 10 children and wasn’t supposed to make it through the birth. The doctor (Lindley Eshelman) didn’t think he could save both mother and baby and when he did they honored him by giving Paul the middle name Lindley.
He graduated from Sweetser High School very near the top of his class. He loved trigonometry, physics and geometry. Before going into the Air Force he worked at the Bilo in Marion. While home on the weekend from his duty station in Illinois Paul met the love of his life (Earlene Wilkerson Brown) in Fairmount. He thought she was a beauty but didn’t get a chance to say much. He next saw her at Custer’s Last Stand and convinced her and her friends to ride around with him and the guys. This time he got in a few more words. He heard her say she was going to be at the bus station the following week and so he hitchhiked all the way back to Marion from his Air Force base in Illinois to be there when she was.
He won her heart while she waited for her dad to pick her up. And when he asked if he could come visit her at home she said yes. That led to lots of hitchhiking and a few months later on January 10, 1964 they were married. Paul was patient, kind, generous, loving and oh so fun! His idea of fixing breakfast back in the day was buying everyone a Pepsi and a donut or a candy bar. He took his grandson for his first haircut, taught his brother-in-law how to tie his shoes, coached tee ball and would give you his last dime if he thought you needed it more than he did (and somebody always did). He was hard working.
He was employed at Chrysler, ran a real estate office and was a pastor all while being a husband, a father and eventually a grandfather. Paul is survived by his daughter Paula McKnight, his grandchildren Brandon (fiance Jessica Latimer) McKnight, Ashley (Dan) Frank, Dustin McKnight, Evan (Samantha) McKnight, Darrin Brown II, Heather (Duane) Darland and 15 great grandchildren.
He is also survived by his brother Chuck (Kathy) Brown and his sister Cheryl Young. He was preceded in death by his parents Virgil and Irene Brown, his wife Earlene (Wilkerson) Brown, his son Darrin Brown and his son- in- law Mark McKnight. He was also preceded in death by his brothers Bill Brown, Lester Brown and Wendell Brown and his sisters Doris Joseph, Dixie Woodcock, Shirley Ann Brown and Marcia Mitchener.
