Willard E. “Wilt” Brown, Jr., age 77, passed peacefully from this life on Wednesday, April 27, in Duncan, Oklahoma, surrounded by loved ones. Wilt was a resident of Comanche, Oklahoma, where he lived with the love of his life, his wife, Carolyn. He was born in Negley, Texas, and grew up in nearby Clarksville, where he graduated with honors. He studied at Paris Junior College and the University of Texas at Arlington. Wilt earned many certifications in his lifetime, primarily in management and law enforcement.
Wilt was a people person. He spent a great deal of his life in city government in Texas and Oklahoma, beginning in 1974 in Everman, Texas, where elected to the city council, then as mayor. He was an icon in that small Texas town, not just for his commitment to the city, but through interactions with the many folks who frequented the first of several convenience stores owned, Tote-a-Bag. Wilt never met a stranger and made everyone feel welcome, no matter who they were or where they came from (sometimes with a little shock via one of his many practical jokes, arranged for one of his many “regulars”).
Holding several City Manager positions over the years, Wilt began with his hometown of Clarksville, Texas, and last served in Comanche, Oklahoma, from where he recently retired. He served on many local and statewide committees with the Oklahoma Municipal League (OML), Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group (OMAG), among others. Throughout his work, Wilt received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Gary Wilkins City Management Award as Manager of the Year (2003) and the Don Rider Outstanding City Official of Oklahoma (2009). Wilt was a force of nature and made a tremendous impact on each and every community in which he engaged. In addition to his work, Wilt was a fifty-plus year member of the Masonic Lodge, the Scottish Rite, and the Shriners, and held several positions of leadership within the many lodges in which he participated.
There was only one thing in which Wilt took more pride than his work and community engagement—his family. There was never a missed opportunity to brag about his wife, his daughters, or his grandsons. He would tell you lots about the smarts or success of his grandsons, along with their good looks (which they, of course, got from their Grandpa). Just try to slow him down when he got to going on about his daughters—one making an incredible impact on the world as a charge nurse at a hospital, the other as a college music professor (who recently completed her doctorate from Boston University. Oh—he’s already told you?). He could not have been more proud of what each has done—and how they remain close to each other and to the family. And then, there’s Carolyn, his wife of 57 years, who was his rock, his beauty, his everything. He would tell you about how she gave so much to everyone around her, how she always worked so hard, and how she made everything around her so lovely and comfortable. Yes, to say Wilt was proud of his family would be the greatest understatement of all.
Wilt was a strong man, a big man, who had a captivating presence wherever he went. When he showed up, you knew it. Whether arriving with a signature Wilt hug, the funniest story you’ve ever heard in your whole life, or clear direction of correction, Wilt was always genuine. He was giving, honest, and straightforward. He was a loving man of great extravagance, on all levels and in all things, with the greatest of these being in love. His absence from this world is a great loss for us all.
Wilt is survived by his wife, Carolyn Brown; two daughters Elizabeth Carole Lyons and her husband Burke Lyons, of Perrin, Texas, and Dr. Kathryn D. “Cathy” Brown and partner Elizabeth Parker of Lancaster, Texas; and two grandsons, Ray Cobb of North Richland Hills, Texas, and Daniel Lyons of Perrin, Texas
Wilt was a people person. He spent a great deal of his life in city government in Texas and Oklahoma, beginning in 1974 in Everman, Texas, where elected to the city council, then as mayor. He was an icon in that small Texas town, not just for his commitment to the city, but through interactions with the many folks who frequented the first of several convenience stores owned, Tote-a-Bag. Wilt never met a stranger and made everyone feel welcome, no matter who they were or where they came from (sometimes with a little shock via one of his many practical jokes, arranged for one of his many “regulars”).
Holding several City Manager positions over the years, Wilt began with his hometown of Clarksville, Texas, and last served in Comanche, Oklahoma, from where he recently retired. He served on many local and statewide committees with the Oklahoma Municipal League (OML), Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group (OMAG), among others. Throughout his work, Wilt received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Gary Wilkins City Management Award as Manager of the Year (2003) and the Don Rider Outstanding City Official of Oklahoma (2009). Wilt was a force of nature and made a tremendous impact on each and every community in which he engaged. In addition to his work, Wilt was a fifty-plus year member of the Masonic Lodge, the Scottish Rite, and the Shriners, and held several positions of leadership within the many lodges in which he participated.
There was only one thing in which Wilt took more pride than his work and community engagement—his family. There was never a missed opportunity to brag about his wife, his daughters, or his grandsons. He would tell you lots about the smarts or success of his grandsons, along with their good looks (which they, of course, got from their Grandpa). Just try to slow him down when he got to going on about his daughters—one making an incredible impact on the world as a charge nurse at a hospital, the other as a college music professor (who recently completed her doctorate from Boston University. Oh—he’s already told you?). He could not have been more proud of what each has done—and how they remain close to each other and to the family. And then, there’s Carolyn, his wife of 57 years, who was his rock, his beauty, his everything. He would tell you about how she gave so much to everyone around her, how she always worked so hard, and how she made everything around her so lovely and comfortable. Yes, to say Wilt was proud of his family would be the greatest understatement of all.
Wilt was a strong man, a big man, who had a captivating presence wherever he went. When he showed up, you knew it. Whether arriving with a signature Wilt hug, the funniest story you’ve ever heard in your whole life, or clear direction of correction, Wilt was always genuine. He was giving, honest, and straightforward. He was a loving man of great extravagance, on all levels and in all things, with the greatest of these being in love. His absence from this world is a great loss for us all.
Wilt is survived by his wife, Carolyn Brown; two daughters Elizabeth Carole Lyons and her husband Burke Lyons, of Perrin, Texas, and Dr. Kathryn D. “Cathy” Brown and partner Elizabeth Parker of Lancaster, Texas; and two grandsons, Ray Cobb of North Richland Hills, Texas, and Daniel Lyons of Perrin, Texas
Willard E. “Wilt” Brown, Jr., age 77, passed peacefully from this life on Wednesday, April 27, in Duncan, Oklahoma, surrounded by loved ones. Wilt was a resident of Comanche, Oklahoma, where he lived with the love of his life, his wife, Carolyn. He was born in Negley, Texas, and grew up in nearby Clarksville, where he graduated with honors. He studied at Paris Junior College and the University of Texas at Arlington. Wilt earned many certifications in his lifetime, primarily in management and law enforcement.
Wilt was a people person. He spent a great deal of his life in city government in Texas and Oklahoma, beginning in 1974 in Everman, Texas, where elected to the city council, then as mayor. He was an icon in that small Texas town, not just for his commitment to the city, but through interactions with the many folks who frequented the first of several convenience stores owned, Tote-a-Bag. Wilt never met a stranger and made everyone feel welcome, no matter who they were or where they came from (sometimes with a little shock via one of his many practical jokes, arranged for one of his many “regulars”).
Holding several City Manager positions over the years, Wilt began with his hometown of Clarksville, Texas, and last served in Comanche, Oklahoma, from where he recently retired. He served on many local and statewide committees with the Oklahoma Municipal League (OML), Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group (OMAG), among others. Throughout his work, Wilt received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Gary Wilkins City Management Award as Manager of the Year (2003) and the Don Rider Outstanding City Official of Oklahoma (2009). Wilt was a force of nature and made a tremendous impact on each and every community in which he engaged. In addition to his work, Wilt was a fifty-plus year member of the Masonic Lodge, the Scottish Rite, and the Shriners, and held several positions of leadership within the many lodges in which he participated.
There was only one thing in which Wilt took more pride than his work and community engagement—his family. There was never a missed opportunity to brag about his wife, his daughters, or his grandsons. He would tell you lots about the smarts or success of his grandsons, along with their good looks (which they, of course, got from their Grandpa). Just try to slow him down when he got to going on about his daughters—one making an incredible impact on the world as a charge nurse at a hospital, the other as a college music professor (who recently completed her doctorate from Boston University. Oh—he’s already told you?). He could not have been more proud of what each has done—and how they remain close to each other and to the family. And then, there’s Carolyn, his wife of 57 years, who was his rock, his beauty, his everything. He would tell you about how she gave so much to everyone around her, how she always worked so hard, and how she made everything around her so lovely and comfortable. Yes, to say Wilt was proud of his family would be the greatest understatement of all.
Wilt was a strong man, a big man, who had a captivating presence wherever he went. When he showed up, you knew it. Whether arriving with a signature Wilt hug, the funniest story you’ve ever heard in your whole life, or clear direction of correction, Wilt was always genuine. He was giving, honest, and straightforward. He was a loving man of great extravagance, on all levels and in all things, with the greatest of these being in love. His absence from this world is a great loss for us all.
Wilt is survived by his wife, Carolyn Brown; two daughters Elizabeth Carole Lyons and her husband Burke Lyons, of Perrin, Texas, and Dr. Kathryn D. “Cathy” Brown and partner Elizabeth Parker of Lancaster, Texas; and two grandsons, Ray Cobb of North Richland Hills, Texas, and Daniel Lyons of Perrin, Texas
Wilt was a people person. He spent a great deal of his life in city government in Texas and Oklahoma, beginning in 1974 in Everman, Texas, where elected to the city council, then as mayor. He was an icon in that small Texas town, not just for his commitment to the city, but through interactions with the many folks who frequented the first of several convenience stores owned, Tote-a-Bag. Wilt never met a stranger and made everyone feel welcome, no matter who they were or where they came from (sometimes with a little shock via one of his many practical jokes, arranged for one of his many “regulars”).
Holding several City Manager positions over the years, Wilt began with his hometown of Clarksville, Texas, and last served in Comanche, Oklahoma, from where he recently retired. He served on many local and statewide committees with the Oklahoma Municipal League (OML), Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group (OMAG), among others. Throughout his work, Wilt received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Gary Wilkins City Management Award as Manager of the Year (2003) and the Don Rider Outstanding City Official of Oklahoma (2009). Wilt was a force of nature and made a tremendous impact on each and every community in which he engaged. In addition to his work, Wilt was a fifty-plus year member of the Masonic Lodge, the Scottish Rite, and the Shriners, and held several positions of leadership within the many lodges in which he participated.
There was only one thing in which Wilt took more pride than his work and community engagement—his family. There was never a missed opportunity to brag about his wife, his daughters, or his grandsons. He would tell you lots about the smarts or success of his grandsons, along with their good looks (which they, of course, got from their Grandpa). Just try to slow him down when he got to going on about his daughters—one making an incredible impact on the world as a charge nurse at a hospital, the other as a college music professor (who recently completed her doctorate from Boston University. Oh—he’s already told you?). He could not have been more proud of what each has done—and how they remain close to each other and to the family. And then, there’s Carolyn, his wife of 57 years, who was his rock, his beauty, his everything. He would tell you about how she gave so much to everyone around her, how she always worked so hard, and how she made everything around her so lovely and comfortable. Yes, to say Wilt was proud of his family would be the greatest understatement of all.
Wilt was a strong man, a big man, who had a captivating presence wherever he went. When he showed up, you knew it. Whether arriving with a signature Wilt hug, the funniest story you’ve ever heard in your whole life, or clear direction of correction, Wilt was always genuine. He was giving, honest, and straightforward. He was a loving man of great extravagance, on all levels and in all things, with the greatest of these being in love. His absence from this world is a great loss for us all.
Wilt is survived by his wife, Carolyn Brown; two daughters Elizabeth Carole Lyons and her husband Burke Lyons, of Perrin, Texas, and Dr. Kathryn D. “Cathy” Brown and partner Elizabeth Parker of Lancaster, Texas; and two grandsons, Ray Cobb of North Richland Hills, Texas, and Daniel Lyons of Perrin, Texas
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