John Brown Obituary

Dr. John C. (Jack) Brown, was born in Cullman, Alabama on February 23, 1943 and died October 9, 2023. Jack was the youngest child in his family, with brother Bobby and sister Mary growing up in Centreville, Alabama. He ran barefoot through the grass, loved cracking open watermelons in the summer, and loved swimming in the creek. He did not, however, enjoy his childhood winter chore of feeding the fire to keep the chickens warm, especially the time he was struck by lightning on the way down to the barn. He always said that lightning strike explained a lot. In spite of that, he went on to go to Auburn University graduating with a bachelor's degree in forestry. Looking for a way to make some money before graduate school and to follow in his older brother's footsteps, he took a job as a fire watcher in Montana. He loved telling stories about that time of his life riding on horseback and waiting for the helicopter to bring in supplies. The following fall he returned to Auburn to pursue a Master's degree in plant physiology. After receiving his Master's degree, Jack joined the Navy and served as a Lieutenant on the USS Guadalcanal. Upon the completion of his service, he moved to Raleigh, North Carolina to pursue a PhD in biochemistry at North Carolina State University. It was there his first wife Diane and he had their son Aaron. Jack received his PhD in 1973 and moved to Berkely, California for his post-doctoral research at the University of California Berkeley in Immunochemistry. In 1974, his daughter Rachel was born. In 1976 Jack and his family moved to Lawrence, Kansas where he began a career of over 30 years at the University of Kansas as a professor in the department of molecular biosciences. He was passionate about his early research in autoimmune diseases and cherished mentoring the graduate students with whom he worked in his lab, many of whom, along with department colleagues became like members of his family and in whose achievements he took great pride. In 1997 Jack met his current wife and fellow scientist, Mary Hise. Jack gained a daughter Marty when he and Mary married on March 21, 1998. Together they published research articles, wrote textbook chapters, laughed, traveled, and were givers of unrelenting love and support to friends and family around the globe. Jack was generous with his heart, time, compassion, and knowledge. Jack, endlessly curious and always learning, loved talking with people about their passions, appreciated their multifaceted talents, and the idiosyncrasies of life. He loved music, playing the guitar, the autoharp, and especially singing. He had a beautiful baritone and had the honor of singing with a choir at Carnegie Hall. He took great joy and pride in his 5 grandchildren, Amelia, Beatrix, Madeleine, Odysseus, and Ophelia. He had endless love for his family and for friends from all of the different chapters of his life. He had a way of knowing exactly what to say in hard times to ease a person's heart and we wish he were here to ease our hearts now. He will be forever missed and forever loved. He is survived by his brother Bobby (ML), sister Mary, wife Mary, his three children Aaron (Elinor), Rachel (Christopher), Martha (Ali), five grandchildren, and many adoring nieces, nephews, and friends. A celebration of his life will be held on January 6th, 2024 from 4:00pm-7:00pm at Arterra Event Gallery, 2161 Quail Creek Dr., Lawrence, KS.