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Memorial services for Butch Brown, 68, of Lenox, will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 25, at the Lenox Community Center. Visitation was held 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 24, at the Lenox Community Center. Inurnment will be held at North Fairview Cemetery in Lenox.
Memorials may be directed towards the family to be established in Butch’s honor. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at www.cummingsfamilyfuneralhome.com under Obituaries.
Raymond “Butch” Eugene Brown was born Sept. 9, 1956, to Raymond C. Brown and Genevieve (Dotson) Brown in Corning. He grew up on the family farm south of Lenox. Butch attended school in Sharpsburg through the second grade followed by Lenox Community School, graduating with the class of 1974.
At an early age Butch’s inquisitive mind was apparent. He just had to know how things worked. Many stories of him “tearing apart” a brand-new item to break down its mechanics exist! Following his graduation, Butch worked with his dad at the sale barn in Lenox and also helped him run a liquid lime fertilizer plant.
Soon Butch met the love of his life, Janie Gray. The couple were wed March 19, 1977. To this blessed union three children were born: Matthew (1977), Lindsay (1980) and Shelley (1985).
Butch continued to farm until the early 1980s, when he traded his 1972 red International tractor for a 1976 red International cab-over-semi, thus beginning his trucking career of 28 years. Butch took a much-needed break from trucking for a few years, working for Bowman Machine, teaching himself to run and write programs for various CNC machines. Then back to trucking it was. Before retiring in 2020, Butch had traveled through all 50 states and Canada, except for Alaska and Hawaii.
Butch loved motorcycles. His favorite hobby included buying motorcycles that needed repair, fixing them up and reselling them. His favorite motorcycle was a Honda Goldwing. Butch also had a deep love of baseball. His favorite teams were the Cubs and Royals, but truth be told, the MLB Network was always on in his home! Butch fought a courageous battle against cancer for the last 2 1/2 years. Even in his illness, he thought of others. Butch donated 10 inches of his hair before receiving chemo treatment, to be made into a child-specific wig that would be given to them free of charge.
Butch is preceded in death by his parents, Raymond and Genevieve Brown; grandparents, Floyd and May Dotson and James and Viola Brown; in-laws, Roger and Elizabeth Gray; brother-in-law Dave England; nephew Timmy Richey and best friend Randy Williams.
Left to cherish Butch’s memory are his loving wife Janie Brown; children: Matthew (Becky) Brown of Mingo, Lindsay (Jason) Wetzel of Corning and Shelley (Adam) Carlson of Omaha, Nebraska; eight grandchildren: Clayton, Garrett, Jakob, Aryana, Liam, Gavin, Griffin and Quinn; two great-grandchildren, Denver and Thomas; sisters, Zella Zerger and Pam England; brothers-in-law, Mike (Carolyn) Gray and Lee (Bev) Gray; sisters-in-law, Lisa (Dan) Sorensen and Jill Burgess; along with a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and many trucking and motorcycle friends.