John Kennedy BROWN

     
     John Kennedy BROWN was born on 14 July 1914 in Maplesville, Chilton County, Alabama, son of Francis Horatio BROWN and Frances May ABNEY.
     John Kennedy 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 He began his education by attending classes held at the Maplesville Baptist and Methodist Churches until the new Maplesville High School was built in 1924. That year he was in the 3rd and 4th grade class of Ms. Bessie Hayes. He later attended boarding school at Eldridge Baptist Academy in Walker County. His brother, Abney, had also attended this school. John played on the school's football team. He returned to Maplesville High School for his senior year. Later on he took engineering courses through a correspondence school to further his employment with the Alabama Highway Department.² He was Division Engineer with the Alabama Highway Department between 1935 and 1976. He was first employed by the Highway Department in March 1935. He retired 31 Jan 1976 after 40 years service. He began military service at age 27 on 9 February 1942 in U. S. Naval Reserve Station, Birmingham, Alabama. He served in the U. S. Navy Seabees, first in the 17th Naval Construction Battalion after leaving the Navy Training Station, Great Lakes, Illinois. He served throughout the entire North Africa Campaign in the 120th Naval Construction Battalion. Later he was sent to Okinawa in the Pacific where he served in the Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit 615 until the end of the war. He returned to the states aboard the battleship U. S. S. Alabama. This is confirmed in the history of the Alabama, "On 20 Sep 1945, Alabama stood out from Tokyo. At Okinawa she embarked some 3700 passengers for the U. S., thus doing her bit in the task of returning the Pacific veterans."
     John married French Inez BURT, daughter of Irby Leon BURT and Birdie Clyde WATTS, on 6 September 1943 in Belview Heights Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama. Their wedding announcement reads: "Miss French Burt and John K. Brown, of Maplesville, Ala., were married at 8:30 Wednesday, Sept. 6, at the parsonage of Belview Heights Presbyterian Church with Dr. J. Allen Anderson officiating. Only members of the immediate family were present. The bride wore a soldier blue suit and her flowers were in a shoulder corsage. After a wedding trip, Mr. Brown returned to Davisville, R. I., where he is stationed with U. S. Navy and the bride will return to Centerville where she is employed."³ He ended military service on 21 October 1945 in Memphis, Tennessee. He was honorarily discharged as a Carpenter's Mate- 2nd Class in the Seabees. He was associated with Frank Britton BROWN and Abney BROWN 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. in 1945 in Maplesville, Chilton County, Alabama.⁴ He was retired on 31 January 1976 in Prattville, Autauga County, Alabama. At the time of his retirement he was working in the Sixth Division Office in Montgomery. He had worked for the Alabama Highway Department of forty years..
     John Kennedy BROWN died on 3 June 1995 in Veteran's Home, Alexander City, Alabama, at age 80. He was buried in Prattville Memorial Gardens.