Major General John Mitchell Brown Memorial to be Held this Saturday

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — A memorial service for Major General John Mitchell Brown will be held Saturday, March 15, 2025, at 12 p.m. at the Greater Jerusalem Church, 5026 Mount Alban Road.

Major General John M “Mike” Brown was born in Vicksburg to the late Fred and Ernestine Helen Foster Brown and lived with his grandmother, the late Alice Foster.

He attended several schools in Vicksburg before moving to San Francisco, California, at 15. He lived with his Uncle William and worked multiple small jobs while in school to support his family in Vicksburg. A model student who was a member of the Silver Seals Society and the National Honor Society, he graduated from Lincoln High School in Missouri in 1949. He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in May 1951, graduating in May 1955 with a commission as a second lieutenant in the Infantry.

His military assignments included battalion command in Germany, a combat tour in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, and several assignments in Korea, including Brigade Command, Deputy Chief of Staff, Comptroller for the 8th Army, and Assistant Division Commander for the 2nd Infantry Division.; Deputy Chief of Staff, Resource management for the U.S. Army forces Command in Atlanta; several assignments on the Army Staff at the Pentagon; and Deputy commanding General of III Corps and fort Hood, his final assignment. He retired in March 1988 as a Major General.

His awards and decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star. Major General Brown held a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Syracuse University. He was a graduate of the Infantry Officer’s Basic and Advanced Courses, the Army Command and Staff College, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

After his retirement in 1988, he remain active. He served as a real estate broker for Long and Foster Real Estate and sat on the board of directors of First Virginia Bank of Maryland and Farmer’s Bank of Maryland. He also conducted numerous studies for he U.S. Department of Defense and private corporations. He also was involved in a management study of Singapore military/government headquarters as President of Michael Brown Analytics.

Major General Brown died on February 10, 2025 in Columbus, Georgia.

Family

He was preceded in death by his wife Louise D. Brown, three sisters; Glorastine Brown, Rosemary Winfield, Catherine Brown-Harrison, one brother, William Foster, two nieces – Brenda Wallace and Denise Moore, four nephews – David Brown, Joe Moore, Andrew Brown, and Travis Moore.

He is survived by his six beloved children: Cynthia Patterson in Vicksburg, Sylvia Nelson, Ronald Brown, Jan Brown, John Brown Jr., and Jay Brown along with one sister, Alice Moore. A special cousin, Vivian Ford-Coleman of Bolton, and a very special Brother-in-Law, Luther Harrison, Jr.

Brown cherished his eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, along with many nieces and nephews, which include Henry Anderson, Carolyn Polk, John E. Brown, Ruby Brown-Harris, Sylvia Brown-Neal, Alvin Moore, Reginald Moore, Pamela Brown, Linda Moore, Donna Brown-Wynn, Sharon Brown, and Earnessa Harrison. His great nieces and nephews Kendrick, Tyrone, Gail, Keafur, Shacory, LaSharon, LaKisha, Tremaine, Howard, Roy “Fugi”, KaShawn, Justin, Geoffrey, Jade and Ashanti and a host of great great nieces and nephews all of whom he loved deeply and cared for throughout his life.