More detail on this person: LTC (Ret) Charles
T. Brown, Jr., 82, of Palmer Township, passed away
on June 19, 2016, at the Atria Senior Living
Community in Bethlehem, PA. Born June 9, 1934,
in Wilson Borough, he was the son of the late
Charles T. and Mildred R. Hottenstein Brown. He
was preceded in death by his beloved wife of over
59 years, Lorraine V. Brown. They celebrated their
59th wedding anniversary on July 11, 2013. He was
a loving son, brother, husband, father,
grandfather and great grandfather. Along with his
wife, he was the owner and operator of Charlie
Brown's Christmas Tree Farm and the Volendam
Windmill Museum, both in Holland Township, NJ.
He was a 1952 graduate of Wilson High School. He
was a member of both the Wilson Warrior football
and track teams. He was a 1970 graduate of the
University of Nebraska-Omaha where he received a
BA in Management. He was an outdoorsman who
enjoyed hunting and fishing.
He was an avid aviator who loved flying both
helicopters and airplanes. He served for 22 years
in the U.S. Army, retiring in 1975 as a Lieutenant
Colonel and Engineer Branch Officer. He was a
Master Army Aviator with over 6000 hours of flight
time in helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. He
traveled all over the world and served overseas
assignments in the Republic of Korea and France.
He completed two combat tours in Vietnam. He
was highly decorated during his military career,
receiving multiple awards for service and heroism.
His awards include, but are not limited to the
Distinguished Service Cross, Legion of Merit,
Soldier's Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross (1 Oak
Leaf Cluster), Bronze Star (1 Oak Leaf Cluster),
41 Air Medals (one Valor Device) and the Army
Commendation Medal. He loved the Army, serving
the United States of America and most of all, he
loved serving alongside other great American
Servicemen.
He and his family returned to Palmer Township
after his military retirement. His first civilian
position after his military career was as the
Business Manager for the Northampton County
Vocational Technical School. He then moved on to
be a Human Resource Manager for Ecolaire
Condenser in Easton, PA. He then worked briefly
as the Business Manager for the Lehigh County
Vocational Technical School. His final employment
prior to full retirement was with McGinley Mills
in Phillipsburg, NJ, where he held the position of
Vice President of Manufacturing.
Charles was an active member and officer of a
number of clubs and organizations throughout his
life. He was a member and former officer of St.
Paul's III Lutheran Church, Palmer Township. He
served as the President of the Lehigh Sportsmen's
Association. He was a member of and served as a
Director for the New Jersey Christmas Tree Growers
Association. He was a member of the Army
Aviation Association of America, the Association
of the United States Army, and The National Rifle
Association. He was also a lifelong member of the
Wilson Borough Republican Club. Charles
volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America, Minsi
Trails Council and with the Easton YMCA.
He is survived by two sons, Charles T. III and his
wife Katherine and Lieutenant Colonel (Retired)
Randall K. and his wife Kathryn, both of Holland
Township, NJ; two sisters, Janice Barber and her
husband Wayne of Traverse City, Michigan and
Mildred Edelman and her husband George of
Highland, Michigan; four grandchildren, Katie
Ellen Henzel and her husband Barrett, Heather
Lorraine Page and her husband John, Joni May
Osborne and her husband Ryan and Randall Kent
Brown Jr., and six great-grandchildren, Jesse,
Caroline, Katie and Emma Page and Ryan Jr. and
Jasper Osborne, as well as five nephews.
Services will be held at 2pm Friday in the Strunk
Funeral Home, Inc., 2101 Northampton St., Wilson
Borough. Call Friday 1-2pm in the funeral home.
Entombment will be immediately following the
service in the Northampton Memorial Shrine.
Offer on-line condolences at www.strunkfh.com. In
lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the
American Cancer Society at
https://donate.cancer.org or to the St. Luke's
Hospice at https://5639.thankyou4caring.org
This information was last updated 06/24/2016
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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