James Brown

James William Brown of Osceola died Tuesday, April 3, from cancer at age 87.

A celebration of life for Jim Brown will be 2 p.m. Saturday, May 12, at Osceola United Methodist Church, 130 W. Grant St., in Osceola. Memorial contributions may be directed to Osceola Public Library, Iowa Public Radio or Friends of Clarke County Conservation.

He enjoyed spending time with his wife and family, RAGBRAI, reading, fly fishing, golf, lunches with the “geezer bunch,” ice cream, cookies and walking his dog, Emma.

Jim had been married to Beth (Taylor) Brown since 1957, renewing their vows in 2012. They have four children, Jeff Brown (Diane) of Lincoln Nebraska, Julie Kemp of Conway, Arkansas, Mary Brown of Des Moines and Susan Pritchard (Ed) of Houston Texas; five grandchildren, Jason Kemp of Branson, Missouri, Jennifer Strait of Benton, Kentucky, Amy Pritchard of Houston, Texas, Daniel Brown (Karissa) of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Alyssa Brown of Memphis, Tennessee; and six great-grandchildren. Jim had one brother, Richard Brown of Denver, who died in 2016.

Born in Des Moines to Lyle and Julia Brown, Jim was a graduate of Roosevelt High School, earned a B.A. from Grinnell College in 1952, and, after serving as a pilot in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, graduated from Drake University Law School in 1959. During his teenage and college years, Jim competed as a diver and racing sail boats on Iowa lakes. He moved with his family to Osceola in 1966, where he practiced law as a partner at Reynoldson, Brown & Van Werden, before starting his own practice. In 1979, Jim was appointed a Judge of the Iowa District Court by then-governor Robert Ray, where he served until 2002, when he was appointed a Senior Judge on the Appellate Court until 2008. At the time of his death, Jim was Of Counsel with the Osceola firm Reynoldson & Van Werden.