James Harlan Brown

James Harlan Brown -TARVERSVILLE - James Harlan Brown, 78, of Tarversville, GA, died Saturday, Dec. 7, following a brief illness. -Mr. Brown, a lifelong educator, was born April 25, 1924, in Newhope (Holmes County), FL, to Ruby Lofton (Smart) Brown and James Lee Brown. He graduated from Geneva High School in Geneva, AL, and Troy State University in Troy, AL. He attended Columbia University as a fellowship student and earned a master's degree from New York University in 1965. -Fluent in French, a student of the classics and a gifted gardener and cook, Mr. Brown taught high school biology and the physical sciences in the public schools from 1942 to 1960 in Alabama, Virginia and New York. From 1960 until his retirement in 1978, Mr. Brown served first as assistant principal and then as principal of Mill Lane Junior High School in Farmingdale, NY. -Following his retirement, Mr. Brown lived for two years in Tarversville, where he was the caretaker to former Georgia state Sen. Mark Fitzpatrick until the latter's death in 1980. Mr. Brown lived a year in New Orleans and a year in Opp, AL, before returning to Tarversville in 1989, where he resided until his death. -He is survived by his wife, Martha Jane (Jordan) Brown of Montgomery, AL; daughters Jane Patterson of Byron, GA, Nancy Ruff of Edwardsville, IL, and Julie Brown of Port Hadlock, WA; grandchildren Leah Jane and Tyler William Patterson, Emily Erin, Caitlin Amelia, Ariel Allison and Alexander Eric Ruff; and many friends and loved ones. A sister, Gwendolyn Louisa Harrelson of Opp, AL, preceded him in death in 2000. -In the interest of science and education, Mr. Brown donated his remains to the Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, GA. -Funeral arrangements are private. -In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Tarversville Baptist Church Building Fund, c/o Loxley Nichols, 208 Goodale Road, Baltimore, MD, 21212.