Veryl David Brown's Obituary
Beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great Grandfather, Brother, Uncle, and Friend.
Veryl David Brown, born November 29th, 1929, passed away peacefully at home on September 26, 2016.
Veryl was preceded in death by his beloved wife Ethel in 2008. He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law Laurice and Ben Kitchen and his daughter Charlene Bailey, grandchildren Laneysa (Tom), Ben Jr. (Sarah), Kelli (Cameron), Aaron (Rachel), and Sam (Tiffany). He is also survived by great grandchildren, Emily, Josh, Delaney, Samantha, Varren, Stephanie, and Emmett. He leaves behind many other important family members including nephew Jack Brown, his wife Carolyn and son Jamey, sister-in-law Margaret Walkup, and nieces Karen Morell and Nancy Meyer and her husband Andrew.
Veryl was born at home and lived in Clayton County, Iowa where he attended Buck Creek School. He played softball in Iowa at the state level. At age 18, he received a draft notice to become part of the United States Army. His basic training was at Fort Knox, Kentucky and he had many different assignments including Anti-Aircraft, Special Forces and the Military Archeological Division, which he found the most interesting of his career. During his time in the military, he was stationed at many different places around the world including Korea, Japan, Australia, South America, Africa, multiple European locations, and the South Pacific Islands. He was a highly decorated soldier, receiving honors including a Purple Heart and Silver Star Medal. He spent over three years as an Airborne Ranger before honorably leaving his military duty as a Master Sergeant.
Towards the end of Veryl’s military career, he was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington. In 1953, he took a fellow soldier up on an offer to join him at a party, which turned out to be a blind date and he met the love of his life, Ethel Morell. They were married at St. Leo’s Catholic Church in Tacoma, WA on September 8, 1956. In the following years, they welcomed two daughters and Veryl easily fell into the role of fatherhood and family life. Veryl and Ethel loved family get-togethers and relished every opportunity to have their loved ones nearby. As their family grew, they were always at events for their grandchildren, supporting them and cheering them on.
After his military service, Veryl worked at a cabinet manufacturing company and there he learned to be a jack-of-all-trades training in plumbing, wiring, and all sorts of other jobs associated with construction. He chose to further his education by attending Bates Technical School in Tacoma and graduated as an Engineering Technician. After graduating, he became employed by the Pierce County Assessor’s Office in 1970, where he worked in the drafting department as a cartographer. He worked for the County loyally for 25 years. Despite the love of their careers, Veryl and Ethel were inseparable in their marriage and chose to retire on the same day, March 1, 1995. They then set out on the adventures of retirement together.
Veryl had a calm and quiet nature about him, but he had a lifetime of unforgettable experiences. His family was very musical and he and his brothers and sisters all grew up playing musical instruments. Veryl became very skilled at the violin and played with musicians like Bill Munroe and his Blue Grass Band and Glen Campbell. Veryl also performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Tennessee. Once, he even had the opportunity to jam with Johnny Cash. Veryl also tried his hand at acting. While stationed at Fort Lewis, he was an extra in the movie “To Hell and Back” starring Audie Murphy. Ethel sewed the appropriate insignia on his uniform to help conform to the story of the troops for the movie. Although you would never know it from his demeanor, Veryl excelled at boxing while he was in the military. He even won first and second place in some on-base boxing championships for his weight class.
Veryl was soft-spoken, but could talk for hours on end about his hobbies. He loved everything to do with the outdoors including fishing, hunting, rock prospecting, gem collecting, target practice, metal detecting and had a great love for animals. His home was never without a beloved pet and even the neighborhood wildlife knew where to come for a special treat. From the spiders that found a safe haven on his porch to the squirrels he had trained to eat out of his hand, they all trusted his kind and gentle nature and all answered to the name of Charlie.
Despite all of his health problems the last several years, he never gave up his fighting spirit. Even though he will be deeply missed by his family and loved ones, we find peace in knowing he has been reunited with his love, Ethel. We will be comforted by a legacy of the fond memories that we have of the two of them.
Services for Veryl will be held on Monday October 3, 2016 at 10:00 AM at Mountain View Funeral Home Garden Chapel, 4100 Steilacoom Blvd. SW, Lakewood WA. Interment to follow services at Mountain View Memorial Park. Family and friends kindly invited.
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