Robert Wilson Brown

Brown, Robert Wilson 89 Sept. 18, 1922 Nov. 21, 2011 Robert Wilson Brown was born Sept. 18, 1922, in Cordele, Ga., to Robert W. and Caroline V. Brown. He died Nov. 21, 2011, in Portland. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was involved in the establishment of the early warning radar system for the protection of the Panama Canal. Although Bob's degrees were in physics, his consuming interest in aviation led him to a career long affiliation with the Federal Aviation Administration. For two years he served as a FAA consultant to the government of Argentina. During his two-year stay in Buenos Aries, he assisted in the implementation of their ILS or instrument landing system. After Bob's retirement as chief of the radar training section of the FAA academy in Oklahoma City, he became interested in the art of violin making, ultimately honing his skills by going to England to study with the British maker, Rowan Armour Brown. He contributed many of his instruments to university and youth orchestras. Preceding him in death were three older sisters. Left to cherish their lives with and now their memories of this wonderful man are his wife, Ann Rorem Brown; his daughter, Sara Kathryn Watts; and his foster son, Demetrios Christadalou. A memorial service will be held Saturday, Nov. 26, 2011, at 2 p.m. at the Hoodland Lutheran Church, 59151 E. Highway 26, Brightwood, OR.