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Herman Dirks Brown Sr.

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Herman Dirks Brown Sr.

Birth
Arkansas, USA
Death
7 May 2007 (aged 96)
Lebanon, Linn County, Oregon, USA
Burial
Sweet Home, Linn County, Oregon, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
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Married Joanne Summerhill Dec. 25, 1929

Married Josephine Sewell April 15, 1949, at Sweet Home, Linn County, Oregon.



Father of Joan, Rubye, Herbert, Hershel, Ted, Roy, William, Isla, Herman Jr., and Frieda.
Husband of Joanna, and Josephine.



Herman Dirks Brown Sr.

Dec. 18, 1910 — May 7, 2007

Herman Brown, 96, of Sweet Home died Monday.

Herman was born in Arkansas to Alexander and Elizabeth (Benningfield) Brown. The family moved to Oklahoma.

On Dec. 25, 1929, he married Joanna Summerhill, and they had four sons. They moved to Tularosa, N.M., where he worked in a saw mill until the Depression hit in 1930. They moved to Glover, Okla., and he worked for a farmer for 50 cents a day, six days a week, plowing fields by hand with mules. In 1935, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted the WPA, he learned to run heavy equipment and worked for the Oklahoma Highway Department building roads.

He joined the Oklahoma National Guard and then enlisted in the Army in May of 1944. He was stationed in Europe. During his tour there, he was an assistant tank driver and machine gunner for the 774th Tank Battalion under General George Patton's 5th Army. He was in the Battle of the Bulge and saw many atrocities during that time, including Nazi concentration camps and Hitler's "hideout." He was honorably discharged Nov. 6, 1945.

There being no work available upon his return home, he went to Oregon with friends looking for jobs. Joanna became ill and passed away and Herman brought his sons to Oregon, where he met and eventually married Josephine Sewell on April 16, 1949. She brought two daughters to the union and Herman and Josephine had four children together. He worked for Bauman's Sawmill in Foster until it was displaced by Foster Reservoir, and then continued on at its new location near Lebanon. He retired due to an injury in 1972. He and Josephine moved onto property owned by his son, Ted, and kept very busy cutting firewood, cutting brush, feeding and watering livestock and mowing the five acre lawn with a push lawnmower. He was finally convinced after about 15 years to use a riding lawnmower. He continued all these chores up until he was 90 and his health would not permit.

He loved the outdoors and had much pleasure in watching the deer that would come to feed on the property. He loved to fish, hunt and garden, and good food. He also had a love for new cars.

He was preceded in death by wife Josephine; sons Herb, Hershel and Herman Jr.; and daughter Joan. He is survived by sons Ted Brown, Roy Brown and William Brown; daughters Rubye Stone, Isla Wagner and Frieda Gibson; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Sweet Home Assembly of God Church. Viewing will start at noon at the church prior to the service.

Sweet Home Funeral Chapel is handling arrangements (www.sweethomefuneral.com).

Married Joanne Summerhill Dec. 25, 1929

Married Josephine Sewell April 15, 1949, at Sweet Home, Linn County, Oregon.



Father of Joan, Rubye, Herbert, Hershel, Ted, Roy, William, Isla, Herman Jr., and Frieda.
Husband of Joanna, and Josephine.



Herman Dirks Brown Sr.

Dec. 18, 1910 — May 7, 2007

Herman Brown, 96, of Sweet Home died Monday.

Herman was born in Arkansas to Alexander and Elizabeth (Benningfield) Brown. The family moved to Oklahoma.

On Dec. 25, 1929, he married Joanna Summerhill, and they had four sons. They moved to Tularosa, N.M., where he worked in a saw mill until the Depression hit in 1930. They moved to Glover, Okla., and he worked for a farmer for 50 cents a day, six days a week, plowing fields by hand with mules. In 1935, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt enacted the WPA, he learned to run heavy equipment and worked for the Oklahoma Highway Department building roads.

He joined the Oklahoma National Guard and then enlisted in the Army in May of 1944. He was stationed in Europe. During his tour there, he was an assistant tank driver and machine gunner for the 774th Tank Battalion under General George Patton's 5th Army. He was in the Battle of the Bulge and saw many atrocities during that time, including Nazi concentration camps and Hitler's "hideout." He was honorably discharged Nov. 6, 1945.

There being no work available upon his return home, he went to Oregon with friends looking for jobs. Joanna became ill and passed away and Herman brought his sons to Oregon, where he met and eventually married Josephine Sewell on April 16, 1949. She brought two daughters to the union and Herman and Josephine had four children together. He worked for Bauman's Sawmill in Foster until it was displaced by Foster Reservoir, and then continued on at its new location near Lebanon. He retired due to an injury in 1972. He and Josephine moved onto property owned by his son, Ted, and kept very busy cutting firewood, cutting brush, feeding and watering livestock and mowing the five acre lawn with a push lawnmower. He was finally convinced after about 15 years to use a riding lawnmower. He continued all these chores up until he was 90 and his health would not permit.

He loved the outdoors and had much pleasure in watching the deer that would come to feed on the property. He loved to fish, hunt and garden, and good food. He also had a love for new cars.

He was preceded in death by wife Josephine; sons Herb, Hershel and Herman Jr.; and daughter Joan. He is survived by sons Ted Brown, Roy Brown and William Brown; daughters Rubye Stone, Isla Wagner and Frieda Gibson; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Sweet Home Assembly of God Church. Viewing will start at noon at the church prior to the service.

Sweet Home Funeral Chapel is handling arrangements (www.sweethomefuneral.com).


Inscription

Herman D. Brown Sr.
PFC US Army
World War II
Dec 18, 1910 May 7, 2007



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  • Created by: Mr. M
  • Added: May 14, 2008
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26810205/herman_dirks-brown: accessed ), memorial page for Herman Dirks Brown Sr. (18 Dec 1910–7 May 2007), Find a Grave Memorial ID 26810205, citing Gilliland Cemetery, Sweet Home, Linn County, Oregon, USA; Maintained by Mr. M (contributor 46964960).