James Dean Brown, 89, of Beeler, Kansas, passed away on April 17, 2023 at Shawnee Post Acute and Rehabilitation Center, Overland Park, Kansas.
James, known by most as Jim, was born to George Mason and Carrie Etta (Smith) Brown on July 14, 1933, on the family farm in Alamota, Kansas. He was a graduate of Dighton High School and enlisted in the Army during the Korean War. He served as a paratrooper and completed 27 jumps and had many adventures in Greece including a meeting with some suspicious farmers with pitchforks during one landing. He liked to travel but returned home to help on the farm. He worked on the railroad and retired from the Union Pacific as a foreman in 1997.
He continued to farm, share jokes with friends and family on email, and explore herbal cures and natural remedies. He liked to stay abreast of technology and built several televisions. He enjoyed keeping up with the news on his computer, using Amazon Alexa and good food, particularly ice cream. He was a quiet man, practical yet stubbornly optimist, who dared to dream impossible dreams. Jim marched to his own drum and loved the only way he knew how. He said 90% of success in life was just showing up and he made sure that he showed up for his family and friends.
Jim said that he was ready to move on to his other dimension and looked forward to being reunited with beloved daughter Jamie Dea who proceeded him in death in 1978. Jim was also predeceased by his parents, George and Carrie, his sisters Vera Whipple, Velma Stramel, Kitty Fisher, his brother William Brown and nephews Terry Brown and Dick Stramel.
Jim is survived by his daughter, Misty Brown Polo and Matteo Polo (Kansas City), son James G. Brown (Hutchinson), his step-daughter Lorrie Little (Salina) and step-son Marlin Portenier (Dodge City), granddaughters Annagrace and Giulietta and grandsons Damon, Jamon and Gianluca and 25 step grand and great grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held at 10:00 A.M. on April 21, 2023, at the Fitzgerald Funeral Home in Ness City, Kansas followed by burial in the Dighton Cemetery, Dighton, Kansas.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to a hospice house in Jim's name or simply treating yourself to an ice cream in his honor.