Joseph Henry Brown

Joseph Henry Brown was born the 7th child to Gordon and Mable Brown on June 7, 1929 in Alida, Saskatchewan. They moved to Pelly when Joe was 5 years old and bought the homestead 6 ½ miles north of Pelly. Joe attended Sunny Isle School to Grade 6 and grew up working on the farm.

Joe met Mary Fehr while he lived with his family in Pelly. He joined the R.C.A.F  in 1951.  They were married April 18, 1952. They lived in Gimli, Manitoba for 4 1/2 months before he was transferred to Calgary. He found a place to stay in Calgary for Mary and their first son, Martin, who was born in Norquay, SK, and was by then 6 months old. They lived in Calgary for nearly 5 years where they had two more sons, Gordon and Bruce.  Joe was then transferred to Rivers, Manitoba where they lived for seven years and had their first daughter, Bonny.  They also had a son, Blake, who passed away of Spina Bifida on December 23rd, 1957 at the age of 2 months old.  Two more children, Cindy and Leonard, were both born in Rivers, Manitoba before Joe was transferred to Penhold, Alberta. In Penhold, they welcomed another Daughter, Verna.  Joe retired from the Air Force as sergeant, following his brother’s death in 1965, to take over the Brown family farm. As was his dream, the farm is still in the family to this day.  In Pelly, daughter Lori and Son Joe Jr. were born, completing the family.

Joe spent time during his Service where he worked on the construction of the Alaskan Highway, and then as a sewage/water treatment technician. The family spent most of their vacations on the family farm, mostly picking stones on Arthur’s, a place that he always felt a connection to and wanted to spend time on. Although he wasn’t much of a demonstrative man, he took pride in his children’s accomplishments and was always there for them. Joe mellowed with age. His grandchildren were his pride and joy.  He had 19 grandchildren, and 29 great-grandchildren at the time of his death, knowing that there would be more to come. He loved having his family around. They shared tractor and sleigh rides as he always had a team of horses to clean barns and haul wood. He was no stranger to hard work and stayed healthy doing farm work and eating Mary’s home cooking.

Some of his proudest accomplishments were when he moved the grain elevator to the family farm from Arran, his Maine Anjou cattle, and his long-lived family farm. He enjoyed hosting large weddings, family reunions, and family BBQs on the farm. He enjoyed good health for the greatest part of his life. He slowly gave up his duties on the farm, giving up his active life as his health deteriorated. He still enjoyed his family and visits to the farm until he was unable to leave the home. He achieved a lot in his life. He was loved and will be missed by his family and friends.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Joseph Henry Brown, please visit our floral store.