Frank Britton BROWN

     
     Frank Britton BROWN was born on 20 January 1918 in Maplesville, Chilton County, Alabama, son of Francis Horatio BROWN and Frances May ABNEY. In his adult years Frank was also known to his family as "Big Frank" to deferenciate him from his nephew, "Little Frank," who lived next door.
     Frank Britton BROWN appeared on a census, enumerated 9 January 1920, in the household of Francis Horatio BROWN and Frances May ABNEY in Maplesville, Chilton County, Alabama.¹ Frank began first grade in 1924, the year the new Maplesville High School was completed. When the Depression resulted in the closing of the schools in Maplesville, Frank transferred to Chilton County High School in Clanton and graduated from there in 1936.² He then attended college at Auburn University, majoring in agriculture, and graduated in 1940. He remained an avid Tiger fan for the rest of his life.
     After graduating from Auburn, Frank worked for a short time with the Alabama Highway Department, then went to work for Pan Am Airlines helping to build airports in Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
     Frank began military service at age 26 on 17 March 1944 in Fort Mcpherson, Atlanta. As World War II began Frank was exempted from military service because of his valuable work with Pan Am, however when his brothers joined he chose to volunteer also. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served as a gunnery instructor training gunners for the B-17 bomber. He was stationed in Texas.
     Following the War, in 1945 Big Frank, and his brother John, opened Brown Brother's Supply Company in downtown Maplesville. John Brown soon sold his share to his brother Abney. Frank and Abney Brown built a new store in 1951. The store remained in operation until Frank's death in 2003. Abney had retired a few years earlier. For over fifty years the hardware store served as a meeting place for the men of Maplesville, and you could nearly always find a group gathered near the front of the store, seated on boxes and upturned spools of wire or rope, discussing sports and politics. Frank and Abney were also partners in farming and raising cattle on the Old Abney Place.³
     Big Frank never married, but dated Miss Edna Tucker for nearly fifty years. Edna served as county health nurse in Prattville for many years until she retired to her family home near Isabella. Frank's neices and nephews always viewed Edna as their aunt, and her family in turn adopted Frank. The pair loved to travel and visit sites around the Southeast. When asked why the pair never married, Frank just replied that he valued his freedom too much.
     Late in his life macular degeneration caused Frank's eyesite to deteriate until he was nearly blind. He was offered a free device from the Veterans Administration that would allow him to read, but in typical fashion, Frank told them to give the expensive device to someone who could use it more. In spite of his condition he continued to drive every morning from his house into town to open the store. The road in front of his house was a busy one with fast moving traffic. Since his eyesite was too bad for him to see oncoming cars, Frank would turn off the engine, roll down the windows and listen for traffic. When he could hear nothing coming, he would quickly start the engine and pull out onto the road. He did not really need the little money the store generated, but he hated to deny his old friends the companionship the meeting place offered.
     Frank Britton BROWN died on 28 February 2003 in Shelby Medical Center, Alabaster, Alabama, at age 85. He was buried on 2 March 2003 in the Abney Family Graveyard, Maplesville, Alabama.
     His obituary appeared 4 March 2003 in The Clanton Advertiser: "Funeral services for Frank Britton Brown, 85, of Maplesville, were held Sunday, March 2, 2003 at Martin Funeral Home with Rev. Randy Tucker [Edna's nephew] officiating. Burial followed at Abney Cemetery. Born on January 20, 1918 to Francis H. Brown and Mary Brown (Abney), he died Friday, February 28 at Shelby Medical Center in Alabaster. Survivors include his brothers Thomas Abney Brown of Maplesville and George Knight Brown of Mountain Brook; nieces Charlotte B. Crow of Birmingham, Pat Taylor of Birmingham and Susan Brown of Atlanta; nephews Thomas A. Brown, Jr. of Montgomery, Frank Brown II of Maplesville, F. H. Brown of New Orleans and John K. Brown of Prattville.".