Bill Brown

Brown, Bill
March 19, 2010

Bill Brown of Sarasota died March 19, 2010.
A memorial service officiated by the Rev. Jesse Anderson will be at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, April 22, at the Girl Scouts Gulf Coast Council Headquarters, located at 4780 Cattlemen Road, Sarasota. Friends are encouraged to visit the family's website at: http://www.beallfuneral.com to express condolences and memories.
Bill Brown of Sarasota passed away March 19, 2010, after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. He was born Jan. 29, 1941, in Williamston, N.C., to the late Lula Mae Brown and Roosevelt Scott.
Bill is survived by his wife, Francine Brown, of 26 years, and his three children, Michael Brown of Bowie, Md., Robert Brown of Kennesaw, Ga., and Michole Brown of New York City; as well as his sister, Mary Alice Brown-Robinson of N.Y.C. He also leaves behind two nieces, Carolyn Aird and Kimberly Turner; a nephew, Anthony Brown; and four grandchildren, Tyler Brown, Austin Brown, Maia Brown and Simone Brown.
As a young man, Bill moved to Ossining, N.Y., and spent 20 years there as a successful entrepreneur of Noller's Super Market, located in Briarcliff, N.Y. In 1982, after selling his business, Bill was asked to join Harcourt Brace, Jovanovich (H.B.J.) by William Jovanovich, chairman and CEO, as facility manager in Saddle Brook, N.J. Shortly thereafter, he was transferred to London, England, to assist the leadership in revamping several of the London-based facilities.
In l984 Bill was relocated back to the United States to assume the position of director of corporate services in San Diego. Later that year, he was asked to lead corporate services at the company's headquarters in Orlando. Bill's entrepreneurial skills served him well at H.B.J., as he continued to assume additional responsibilities. Bill left H.B.J. in 1991 to assume the position of corporate V.P. of distribution at ScottsForesman in LaPorte, Ind.
Shortly thereafter, he joined Harper Collins Publishers, at the invitation of George Craig, chairman, as senior V.P. of corporate fulfillment. Bill's corporate responsibilities engaged him in frequent travel throughout the U.S. and Europe; and his continued success and highly respectable reputation in the field of distribution and customer service brought him to the attention of Nader Darehshori, chairman and CEO of Houghton Mifflin Publishers. Once again, Bill joined the executive ranks of another publisher and he ultimately retired from Houghton Mifflin in 2008.
Bill relocated to Sarasota Florida in 2001, after enjoying highly successful careers as both an entrepreneur and corporate executive. During his retirement years, Bill became involved in the sports he so loved, golf and horse racing ownership. He was also actively involved in various community organizations and traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe with his wife, enjoying many of the places he visited during his employment years.