James F Brown

James F. Brown

12/24/1930 to 2/26/2026

When Jim was born, his mother died 2 days later. Making a very hard decision Jim's Dad, H.H. Brown, decided to let his parents raise Jim. They were unprepared for a newborn, so Jim spent the first few months of his life sleeping in a dresser drawer.

His Grandparents were loving but strict. They did not even have indoor plumbing. They raised Jim on their farm which is why he never ate chicken. He had to take care of the chickens hence his hatred of them.

Once when Jim was not quite old enough to join the Army, he ran away from home and lived for 2 weeks in an orange grove eating only oranges.

Jim's Father remarried and had another son, Van. Van's mother took Jim back into their new family. Unfortunately, the marriage didn't last but by that time Jim had decided to join the Army.

Before being shipped off to Korea for the war, Jim was stationed at Fort Roberts in Paso Robles, CA. His first wife, Garry Brown, lived in Paso Robles with her family and one night, even though she was engaged to someone else, Jim met Garry at a roller rink, and it was love at first sight for both. Garry broke her engagement and she and Jim were engaged. Before leaving CA for the war, Jim and Garry got married with her parents in attendance. She lived with her parents while Jim was in Korea.

Jim and Garry had 3 daughters, Sheree, Melanie & Lorie. Garry was struck with leukemia and passed away after 30 years of marriage in 1982.

Lorie and Susie (Tess's oldest daughter) were working at Lockheed and during a lunch break Lorie asked if anyone had a mother than wanted to date her Dad. Things moved fast and they were lucky enough to find their second loves with each other. They married Feb. 11, 1984, and were happy with their lives, they traveled, entertained and loved till her death Sept. 12, 2017. Tess had four children, Edward, Michael, Susie & Nancy.

Jim was a Barber for over 30 years; owning his own shop in Arleta. After closing his barber shop, he began working for the LA Unified School District as a Plant Manager for 25 years and retired when he was 67years old.

Jim lived on his own in his home in Calabasas until his health took a turn. In 2023 he moved to a Board & Care facility in Simi Valley. After a year there his family moved him to Blessed Family Living also in Simi Valley where they took such good care of him that Jim felt like they were his second family. A HUGE thank you to Jennifer Hamilton and her staff of: Mario, Tess & Violet who loved Jim to the very end.

No matter what was going on in his life, Jim ALWAYS had a smile on his face and that is something everyone remembers about him.