Henry B. "Crank" Brown

Henry B. "Crank" Brown, age 67, of 25 Hanley Street, died Friday, September 19, 2008, at home, from Leukemia, after many treatments and a bone marrow transplant.

Henry is survived by his wife of 19 years, Jane M. (LeClair) Brown; their son, Alex Brown of Putnam, Conn.; a son, Charles Brown of North Carolina, from his previous marriage; a sister, Carol Gray and her husband Roger of Maryland; a brother-in-law, David and his wife Pamela LeClair of New Hampshire, plus nieces, nephews and lastly several racing buddies.

He was born in Tawneytown, Md., son of the late Henry G. and Mildred (Trussell) Brown. Upon entering the U.S. Navy, Henry made his permanent home in Connecticut where he raised his son Charles.

He was known to his sister and relatives in Maryland as "Sonny" since he and his father shared the same first name. Also known to many as "Crank" in his younger years and was a member of the "Hot Sparks" Auto Club at that time.

He was a mechanic by trade, and heavily involved in NASCAR weekly racing at the Thompson International Speedway in Thompson, Conn. He worked as a NASCAR technical inspector at Thompson, as well as a chief mechanic, car owner and mentor to many young drivers and other mechanics at the speedway. For the past 3 years he worked for American Medical Response as a wheel chair van driver.

There are no calling hours. A Celebration of Life ceremony will be held at the Thompson International Speedway at a later date. Service information will be posted on

www.SIModified.com.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Hendrick Marrow Foundation at: http://marrow.convio.net/site/PageNavigator/Donation_home or Hospice of Northeastern Conn., 320 Pomfret St., Putnam, CT 06260. Shaw-Majercik Funeral Home, 48 School Street, Webster, Mass. is directing arrangements.