Earnest Wilson Brown

Earnest Wilson Brown died in Gig Harbor on Monday July 15, 2013 from complications associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. He was 87.
Earnie is survived by his wife, Phyllis Anita (Bails) Brown and five children—Bonnie Belvin (Mark) of Port Orchard, Tom Brown (Sonja) of Medford, OR; Dan Wilson Brown (Kellie) of Olympia; Nancy Haskins of Port Orchard; and Cathy Hoehne (Scott) of Surprise! AZ. He had twelve grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.
Earnie was born in Glenpool, Oklahoma on May 3, 1926 to his parents, Elbert Wilson Brown and Grace May Cross. His two sisters, LaVona May and Norma Lee, joined the family after him; both preceded him in death. On the occasion of the his mother’s untimely illness and death in 1936, Earnie’s father moved the family to Ivanhoe, CA, and later to Alameda, for employment in the shipyards. Earnie enlisted in the United States Navy after his graduation from Alameda High School in 1944 and he served as a sailor in the South Pacific during World War II.
After the war, Earnie was selected for Officer Candidate School and was assigned to the OCS program at Oregon State College in Corvallis, Oregon. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry in 1949. He met his future wife, Phyllis, at Oregon State in 1947. They were married on August 20, 1949. This August 20 would have been their 64th wedding anniversary.
They started their family in Oregon, then settled in Tacoma, WA, where Earnie established his career in the wood products industry, specializing in plywood, primarily with the Weyerhaeuser Company.
As he began his retirement, Earnie and Phyllis moved from the Red House in Tacoma to their property in Tahuya on the north shore of Hood Canal. While living there, Earnie built the house that would be their home for the next twenty years.
During that time, they enjoyed the many wonderful occasions they spent with their children and grandchildren, the special memories gained by traveling across the country with their RV, and fulfilling Earnie’s life-long dream of going to Alaska.
The constants of Earnie’s life were numerous, but most notably the joy he experienced using his woodworking skills in projects large and small; the pride he had for his family, and the great, everlasting love he reserved for his wife, Phyllis—the adoring love he retained for her the full extent of his life.
Graveside services were held July 22, 2013 at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, WA. Memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, North Tower, 100 West Harrison Street, Seattle, WA 98119.