John L. Brown

John Louis Brown, 78, of Flemington, passed away on October 28, 2009. Born July 31, 1931, the son of the late John William and Marjorie Black Brown. Born in Sergeanstsville, NJ where he was a former member of the Sergeantsville Methodist Church, in which he was the softball coach and player for many years. Mr. Brown was a lifelong resident of Hunterdon County and his ancestors can be traced back over two hundred years there.

John graduated from Lambertville High School in 1949, where he earned a varsity letter in football and was named to the 2nd all county team, where he played on both the offensive and defensive lines. He also starred in sandlot baseball and was offered a professional contract by The Philadelphia Athletics. However, John’s first love was farming, and after consulting with his father, he chose his cows over baseball. He and his wife of 57 years, Eva Vogel Brown, owned and operated a dairy farm for over twenty years. He often won agricultural awards in top butter fat and milk production as well as soil conservation techniques during his farming career. After selling his farm, he began his second career with the Hunterdon County Road Department, where he retired in 1993.

John was an avid sports fan and loved the New York Mets and Dallas Cowboys. He was a sports historian, knowing statistics and facts regarding old time players. One of his highlights was attending the 1954 World Series in Cleveland. He loved hunting both locally and in Bangor, Maine. He always thought Hunterdon was a wonderful place to live and cherished the area.

Surviving are his wife, Eva Vogel Brown, a son Donald Brown (fiancé Carolyn Lowe) of Hopewell, NJ; two daughters, Margery (Dr. Robert Fisher) of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Toni (Jeff MacDade) of Ringoes, as well as two sisters, Joyce (John) Benson of Flemington, Florence (Todd) Lose of Sergeanstsville, and a brother William (Bet) Brown of Lambertville.

He is also survived by his grandchildren Jesse Brown of Bloomsburg, Pa., Anne Bronsveld, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Kathryn MacDade and Jennifer MacDade of Ringoes. Rebecca Lowe and William Lowe of Hopewell and one great grandchild Haley Brown, Bloomsburg, Pa. In addition, he is survived by many loving nieces and nephews.

Private graveside services will be held on Monday, November 2, 2009 at the Rosemont Cemetery,

under the direction of the Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington, with the Rev. Dave Errickson presiding.

Please visit www.holcombefisher.com for further information, or to send condolences.