Frank Joseph Brown

Frank Joseph (Joe) Brown, 77, passed away of kidney failure (following a stroke on March 17) in the early morning of September 2nd, 2025 at Salem Hospital, his family at his side.

Joe was born on July 15th, 1948 in Fletcher, Oklahoma. His grandmother kept him warm, rocking him by the fire all through the first night after he was born. In 1957, his family moved to Salem, Oregon, and he attended St. Joseph’s Parochial School, and graduated from Serra Catholic High School. He went to Oregon State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Art and Architecture. At OSU, he met Jeanne Marie Brown, and after two years of courtship, they married on August 31, 1968 in Pendleton, Oregon. He also earned an Elementary Teaching certification and a Business degree in Management Information Systems (1999).

Joe had many careers -- he was an elementary school teacher and a building contractor, ran a consulting business, and worked in Purchasing, R&D design, Computer Assisted Drafting, and Equipment Manufacturing (satellites, bar codes, and titanium casting). He lived in Oregon most of his life, living in Salem, Monmouth, and Corvallis. He semi-retired at 62 in October, 2010, and spent his retirement in Monmouth.

In his free time, he loved drawing, gardening, carpentry, welding, and genealogy. He made pencil portraits of relatives and gave them as gifts for birthdays and holidays. He grew organic fruits and vegetables in his raised garden beds, his self-made greenhouse, and mini fruit orchards. He loved researching genealogy on the internet and provided his family with packets of ancestry information.

Joe is survived by his wife of 57 years, Jeanne Brown, his children, Melody Allen (and husband Joel), Andrew Brown, April Waskiewicz (and husband Alex), and Kristen Brown, and his grandchildren, Emily Brown, Natalie Allen, Andrew Brown, Lucy Allen, and Nikolai Waskiewicz. He is survived by his sister, Rosemary Kora, and brother, Frank Brown, Jr., and preceded in death by his brother, Edward Brown, and his sister, Lucy Ernst.

Joe was a loving husband, father, and grandfather, and his family remembers his warm laugh, his wonderful puns, his generosity, his hard work and tender care of his wife and family, and the many hours he spent sitting on the floor playing Legos, drawing, and reading with his grandchildren.

The family invites you to share memories and photos on this memorial page to celebrate Joe’s life. Cards are also welcomed in lieu of flowers, to share with his wife Jeanne, sent in care of his children (contact us for addresses).