John Pershing Brown

Obituary John Pershing Brown, 93, of Manhattan, Kansas, passed away Tuesday, March 10th in his home. The son of Josiah Brown and Catharine Brannick LaFontaine Brown, John was born on November 3rd, 1921 in Wamego, Kansas. John graduated from Wamego High School in 1940, and was president of his freshman class. He spent three and a half years in military service during World War II. His duties included the Air Corp, Army Specialized Training Program, the 84th Infantry Division, and Hospital Administration at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, until his honorary discharge as Technical Sergeant in 1946. John graduated in Business Administration from Kansas State University in 1947. His first full time job was at the Kaw Valley Bank in Wamego. He then was employed at Kansas Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance where he advanced to Director of Information Systems for all corporations, where he supervised the transition of accounting jobs to a punch card system. He retired in 1986 after 37 years. On September 6th, 1953, John married Evelyn Boseck of Atlantic, Iowa, and they were the parents of three children, Cathy, Brad, and Chris. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Manhattan (Elder, Deacon, Clerk of the Session); Sertoma Evening Club (Past President); 60 Year Member of the Wamego Masonic Lodge, Scottish Rite, Isis Shrine of Salina, and Manhattan Shine Club; Charter Member of Manhattan LTD Dance Club; Charter Member of Kaw Valley Chapter of Data Processing Management Association in Topeka (Past President and International Director); Life Member of the K-State Alumni Association; and Life Member of American Legion-Pierce Keller Post #17. John was the epitome of a family man. He loved nothing more than spending time with his family, and looked forward to holidays and celebrations together, especially Christmas. He didn’t know a stranger and was friendly and kind to every person he met. John was also known for loving to make jokes and always had a huge smile and a good laugh. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Margaret Fecht Wilson; his half-brothers, Leo LaFontaine Sr. and Simon LaFontaine and his half-sisters Martha LaFontaine, Rose LaFontaine, and Clara Spears Bentley. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Evelyn, his daughter Cathy Lykens (Dave) of Fairway, KS, sons Brad Brown (Brenda) of Kansas City, MO, and Chris Brown of Manhattan, KS, grandchildren Clint Brown (Jennifer) of Manhattan, KS, Emily Lykens Swarts (Thomas) and Andrew Lykens both of Prairie Village, KS, his sister, Roberta Brewer of Ulysses, KS, and many nieces, nephews, and friends. The celebration of life will be held at First Presbyterian Church at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, March 13, 2015. A visitation will take place prior to the service from 9:00-10:00 a.m. Following the service the burial will be held at the Wamego Cemetery. The family suggest donations to the First Presbyterian Church, 801 Leavenworth St., Manhattan, KS 66502; Shriner's Children's Hospital, in care of the funeral home, or Home Care and Hospice House, 3801 Vanesta Dr. Manhattan, KS 66503. For more information, to send an email condolence, or send a gift visit the funeral home website at irvinparkview.com