John Brown III

John Brown died unexpectedly on November 9, 2024 of heart failure while visiting family in Savannah, GA. He is survived by his loving family�his wife, Keene Barroll; his three children, Katie, Sarah, and Tucker Brown; his stepchildren, Schuyler and Chandler Matthai; his daughter-in-law, Emily Parr Brown, his son-in-law, Seth Sharp; his step daughter-in-law, Betsy Budorick; his cousin, Georgeann Haas; his mother-in-law, Page Barroll; his former wife, Susan Brown; and his seven grandchildren, Sam and Mac Nielson, Oliver Sheldon, and Auggie, Evie, Susie, and Eliza Parr Brown�as well as countless friends whom he considered family.

John Brown is best known as the founder and owner of RJ Bentley's restaurant in College Park, Maryland, where his warm smile, firm handshake, big hugs, and booming voice greeted all those who walked through the doors for 46 years. John would be the first to tell you that a big part of his job was raising kids, and there are thousands of former Bentley's hostesses, waiters, bartenders, managers, busboys, cooks, bouncers, and assorted other staff members who have gone on to become successful in every profession imaginable, including athletes, doctors, teachers, attorneys, politicians, therapists, and small business owners. They might not have known it when they were first hired, but they quickly learned that they were working for a legend.

It is impossible to run a successful restaurant for over four decades without being an incredibly hard worker. John grew up on a farm in Whiteville, North Carolina, where he learned at an early age to pick tobacco. For pocket money, he sold boiled peanuts in town. He moved with his mother, Helen Joyce Eadon, to Chapel Hill for high school, where he swam and played basketball, and he worked as a dishwasher, a waiter, and a lifeguard. In 1965, he enlisted in the Army, and spent three years as a sergeant in London, where he oversaw shipments of materials for military personnel and bases in Europe. Taking full advantage of his London posting, he learned to play rugby and made lifelong friends. After his discharge, he hitchhiked all over Europe and North Africa, which sparked an enduring love of travel and adventure.

When John returned to the United States, he settled in the DC area, where he tended bar, managed restaurants, and worked towards his bachelor's degree in business, which he earned in 1973 from the University of Maryland, College Park. Before opening Bentley's in 1978, he worked as a management consultant for Booz, Allen & Hamilton. In March 1995, John was appointed a member of the Maryland Stadium Authority, and he served as its Chairman from 1999 - 2003.

John was actively involved in numerous organizations affiliated with the University of Maryland, including the Inner Circle of the Michael D. Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, the Business School Alumni Chapter Board of Directors, the Alumni Association Board of Governors, Friends of Gary (FOG), Friends of Maryland Basketball (FOMB), and he was a past president of the Terrapin Club. In 1998, he was recognized by the Robert H. Smith School of Business as an outstanding alumnus.

He was chair of the Government Relations Committee of the Restaurant Association of the State of Maryland, board member of the University of Maryland Medical System, and board member of Special Olympics Maryland.

John was a beloved friend to an unimaginable number of people; he was inclusive, generous, thoughtful, loyal, and kind. Almost everyone who met him has a John Brown story, and the lucky ones have a collection. His quick wit, sense of humor, warmth, kindness, and ability to turn everything into a party made him a legendary figure everywhere he went. He was universally regarded as a great boss, a great partner, and a great friend.

He had fun no matter what he was doing, and he went out of his way to always do the right thing. He loved his family beyond measure, and he took every opportunity to show and tell them. It's impossible to appropriately capture what an amazing person he was, the number of lives he touched, or the depth of the collective sadness at his loss. There will never be another John Brown.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to two organizations that were important to John: The University of Maryland and Special Olympics Maryland. Along with his family, the University of Maryland will establish two new endowed accounts in his honor. One endowment will support Maryland Athletics and one will support need-based scholarships for first-generation students. Memorial gifts made in his name will be split evenly between the two endowments. Gifts can be made online at go.umd.edu/johnbrown or checks can be mailed to University of Maryland, Gift Acceptance, PO Box 49013, Baltimore, MD 21297.

A celebration of his life will be held at R.J. Bentley's on December 3rd at 6pm.