In Memoriam

John Jay Brown

October 12, 1958 - February 14, 2017

Our dear friend John Brown, member of our church and drummer for our early service, joined the Church Triumphant on Tuesday, February 14, at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro.

A burial service was held on Tuesday, August 1, at Roselawn Burial Park in Martinsville. The Veterans Honor Guard performed military honors.

A memorial service was held on Friday, March 3, with Rev. Mark Hinchcliff officiating. Members of the Veterans Honor Guard participated in the service.

Obituary: http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/obituaries/brown-john-jay/article_65f3a03e-23c3-5f79-97a1-05a9dc0b87a6.html

Virginia King wrote this tribute to John:

I first met John when I joined the Praise Band for the contemporary service to the church. I was impressed with his skill as a percussionist. I could tell he really enjoyed playing and appreciated the opportunity to share his talent. When people asked him why he chose to become a member of First Presbyterian Church of Martinsville, he would say that it was more like the church he attended in New York City where he grew up. He regularly attended the adult Sunday School class and would stay for the 11 o’clock service every week. He was the liturgist one Sunday. 

Another passion he had was being a member of the Veterans Honor Guard. He was in the army at one time. He loved putting on the Honor Guard uniform and participating in the ceremonies honoring former military people at their funerals. He had not been able to participate for the last few years because of his health problems.

The praise band members grieved with John when he lost his mother a couple of years ago. He inherited a very special cross that had been his mother’s. John donated the cross to the chapel service where it has been on the communion table ever since.

John was an “expert” when it came to kidney dialysis. He was on dialysis three to four hours a day two times a week for over 12 years. He did not feel very well the rest of the day after his treatment, but when we had to move rehearsal to one of those days, he still managed to come. He told me that he would instruct other dialysis patients about how to handle bad weather or power outage if it prevented them from having a treatment. He enjoyed being the “teacher” for new patients.

I have been impressed with how welcoming our church members had been to him. He was of a different race and social-economic class than the rest of us, but everyone seemed to enjoy having him be a part of our church community. I think he felt as if we were his family.