FORMER JUDGE A.J. BROWN PASSES AWAY AFTER LENGTHY
ILLNESS
RISON- Former Cleveland County
Judge Arn Johnson "A.J." Brown, 70, of Rison, died Saturday, March 12, at his
home near Rison following a long bout with cancer.
Justice of the Peace Charles Rodgers, Jr. said he
remembers Brown as a county official who liked to find ways to save money.
He
recalled how Brown implemented a program while he was in office to have the county build
and install its own concrete bridges. Two of those bridges, Rodgers said, are located on
Rye Cut-off Road in the southeastern section of the county.
"I
think that (the bridge program) was what he was most proud about," said Rodgers, who
added that he taught several of Brown's children while he was a teacher at Rison.
Brown
had never held political office when he won the county judge's seat in 1994 following a
run-off after the Democratic primary that spring.
Brown
was one of five candidates in that race to replace Joe Rauls, who opted not to seek
another term.
In
the primary election, Brown finished second to Jimmy Lockhart, qualifying him for the
run-off election as one of the top two finishers in the primary. Burt Rodgers, Dennis
Sipes and Jimmy Childress were the other candidates in the race.
Brown,
despite his second-place finish in the primary, managed to pull enough votes from the
other candidates to win the run-off by 269 votes over Lockhart, who is the current
Cleveland County road foreman.
He
assumed office in January 1995 and was unopposed for his second term during teh 1996
election cycle. Brown, however, fell short during the next election when Thomas
Crutchfield eventually won the seat.
Brown
made one more run at the office last spring when he and Pete Peters challenged the
incumbent, Vernon Dollar. Dollar won
re-election.
During
his tenure in office, Brown oversaw two significant improvements to the county; the
construction of the Cleveland County Senior Citizens Center in Rison and implementation of
road names for what was then Cleveland County's new 911 address system.
Brown
began his battle with cancer after that 1998 election.
He said in an interview with the Herald last year that he had improved
enough to take one more shot at the office.
Besides
being involved in local politics, Brown was also active in local youth sports, serving as
a coach and league officer.
Brown
had a long military career, serving in the U.S. Marine Corps during both the Korean and
Viet Nam conflicts. He retired from the
Marines as a first sergeant.
Brown
is survived by his wife, Sue Brown and five children.
A.J. BROWN 
Cleveland County Herald, March 16, 2005
Arn
Johnson "A.J." Brown, 70, of Rison, went to be with our Lord, Saturday, March
12, 2005, at his home after a long illness. Born August 24, 1934, at Rison, he was a
son of the late Luther Brown and Ozelle Johnson Hutcheson, and Marie Brown of Rison.
Mr.
Brown was a retired first sergeant of the United States Marine Corps, having served in the
Korean and Viet Nam wars. He served two terms as Cleveland County Judge from 1995 through
1998. His most recent occupation was a
contract mail carrier for the United States Postal Service.
Mr.
Brown was preceded in death by one brother, Luther Wayne Brown; one sister, Joyce
Hutcheson; and one niece, Stacey Brown Sadler. He
was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Pine Bluff.
Mr.
Brown is survived by his wife, Sue Brown of Rison, whom he married on February 27, 1957;
one son and daughter-in-law, Jay and Sue Brown of Bolingbrook, Ill.; four daughters and
sons-in-law, Belinda and Steve Winston of Sheridan, Beverly and Wesley Leopard of Rison,
Barbie and Eddie Parsley of White Hall, Bethany and Steven Pierce of Russellville; mother,
Marie Brown of Rison; two brothers, Myles Brown of Pine Bluff and Bruce Hutcheson of El
Dorado; five sisters, LaVetra Ashcraft of Woodlawn, Patsy Boyd of Rison, Linda Wood of El
Dorado, Phala Gathright of Smackover and Gayla Waugh of Knox, Tenn. Mr. Brown was very
proud of his ten grandchildren, Leann and Jared Winston, Brandea and Cory Brown, Rodney
and Rusty Leopard, Maegan and Charlie Parsley, and Tyler and Isaac Arn Pierce.
Funeral
services were Tuesday, March 15, 2005, at Buie Funeral Chapel in Rison with Rev. Lee
Kinney and Bro. Wade Totty officiating. Burial was in the Wilson Cemetery. Pallbearers
were the marine Honor Guard. Honorary pallbearers were his grandsons. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of
Buie Funeral Home of Rison.
BROWN BATTLING ILLNESS LIKE A MARINE
Cleveland County Herald, February 23, 2005 - page
8
RISON- The family of former
Cleveland County Judge A.J. Brown reports that he is fighting his latest bout with cancer
just as any long-time Marine would. Brown, who retired late last year from the U.S. Post
Office at Rison has been in and out of the hospital lately with the disease, his family
has reported.
"He is behaving much like the bumper sticker says, "Once a Marine, Always
a Marine'," said his daughter Beverly Leopard. “He absolutely will not give in
to this disease. 'Give up' is not in his vocabulary.”
Brown delivered mail as a contract carrier to southeastern Cleveland County for the
Rison Post Office from 1999 to 2004, when he retired due to his health. He also served as
a substitute mail carrier from 1988 to 1994, resigning from the job after winning the
county judge's race. He served as county judge from 1995 through 1998. Besides his jobs at the post office and as county
judge, Brown also worked as a logging contractor with Wilson Brothers Lumber Co. at the
"Y" community. He also operated
Brown Texaco in Rison.
But Brown is proudest of his stint in the Marines, which began in 1951 and lasted
through his retirement in 1971. He saw deployment in both the Korean and Vietnam
conflicts during his military career, and also served for a brief time as an
orderly/receptionist for the Assistant Secretary of the Navy at the White House.
Brown joined the Marines as a 17-year-old on August 31, 1951, completing boot camp
in San Diego, Calif., in November 1951. He
was originally assigned to Sea School but was released because of his 5-ft, 6-in. height
did not meet the minimum requirement of 5-ft-7-in. He
was assigned to the Marine Corps Supply at Barstow, Calif., instead. He was eventually promoted to corporal and then
sergeant while undergoing combat training in 1953. He
was eventually assigned squad leader, 1st Marine Division, FMF.
After completing his combat training, Brown was sent to Korea, where he was
attached to a "recovery team" after the Armistice was signed in July 1953. As part of the recovery team, Brown was among
those responsible for recovering soldiers killed in action that were unable to be
recovered during enemy attacks. From
Korea, his military career took him to Yokosuka, Japan, Memphis, Camp LeJeune, N.C., and
eventually Washington, D.C., where he worked as a orderly/receptionist in the White House.
He eventually transferred to the Marine Corps
Command Center, serving as on operations non-commissioned officer. There, he handled contingency plans,
communications, and briefings to the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Brown was eventually
transferred to Shreveport, La., assigned as an instruction assistant to the
inspector/instructor of Marine Corps Reserve Unit in February 1968.
He was ordered to Vietnam after that, serving as
first sergeant of "G" Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division.
He was eventually assigned to a special landing force, 9th Marine Expedition Force, 7th
Fleet, a helicopter assault force. Brown returned to the U.S. in 1969, completing his
military career at Camp Pendleton Calif., and Bethlehem, Penn.
Brown received several medals and honors during
his military career, including the Navy Achievement Medal of Outstanding Combat
Leadership, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Korean Service Medal, Korean Presidential
Citation, United Nations Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Unit Citation, and
Combat Actions Medals. He was also awarded six Good Conduct awards, six Expert Rifleman
Badges and a Pistol Sharpshooter Award.
Brown
and His wife, Sue, who live outside Rison on Gum Springs Road, have five children, Leopard
said they're all proud of their dad. "My
brother, sisters, and I are all very proud of our father and what he has accomplished
through the years not only in the military, but also his civilian life," she said.
She noted that Brown also coached several youth baseball and football teams as well as
American Legion baseball. He was also a
certified umpire.
"While serving as our judge, he always did
everything in his power to do the best he could for our county," Leopard said. "Daddy has always given glory to God, and was
serving as an usher at his church in Pine Bluff until he became too ill to continue."
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