May 3, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 73 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
IN MEMORY OF REVEREND JASPER R. BROWN, SR.; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 73
(Extensions of Remarks - May 03, 2019)
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[Extensions of Remarks] [Page E536] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] IN MEMORY OF REVEREND JASPER R. BROWN, SR. ______ HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR. of georgia in the house of representatives Friday, May 3, 2019 Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart and solemn remembrance that I rise today, to pay tribute to a man of God, respected public servant, and dear friend of longstanding, Reverend Jasper R. Brown, Sr. Sadly, Reverend Brown transitioned from labor to reward on Wednesday, April 24, 2019. His funeral service will be held at 3 pm on Sunday, May 5, 2019, at Live Oak A.M.E. Church in Donalsonville, Georgia. Rev. Jasper Ross Brown, Sr. was born in Malone, Florida on September 17, 1925, to the union of Reverend David Rufus Brown and Mrs. Torah Bowers Brown. The values of Christian discipleship and hard work were instilled in Jasper at a young age. After completing primary school in the Jackson County, Florida Public School System, he began working under his father and developed the discipline, work ethic, and joy that came with farming and being exposed to the Gospel. Because manhood was thrust upon him at an early age, he only finished eighth grade, but was an avid reader, highly intelligent, and had a love for learning. Hence, as an adult, while working full-time at Great Southern Plywood Mill in Cedar Springs, Georgia, and supporting his family, he went back to school taking high school classes in Tallahassee, Florida and earned his GED. Jasper Brown answered the call to serve his nation at the age of 18, becoming the first African-American from Seminole County, Georgia to be inducted into the United State Marine Corps. He was trained as a member of the historic Montford Point Marines and fought in the gruesome Battle of Peleliu in Japan during World War II. More than 50 years later, he and all of the Montford Point Marines, the first African- Americans allowed to serve in the Marine Corps, were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President Barack Obama recognizing their personal sacrifice and service to their country during World War II. When Jasper Brown returned home from World War II, within a few days of his return, he met and shortly thereafter married Ruby Moore Brown, a union which lasted for 53 years until Ruby's death in May, 2001. Japser and Ruby had 10 children, seven of whom predeceased them. A man of many trades, he explored the realm of real estate in the Donalsonville area before taking classes to obtain his GED. During this time, he used his voice to help improve the working conditions for the employees at the Great Southern Plywoood Mill in Cedar Springs, Georgia, where he helped organize and form a union to protect employees' rights to a fair wage, fair pensions, insurance, and overall fair treatment. He mentored others and was often a voice for the voiceless and was never reluctant to challenge injustice in the workplace or anywhere people sought his help for unfair treatment. He was elected and served honorably as the first Black City Councilman in the City of Donalsonville, Georgia. In October 1977, Jasper Brown accepted his calling into the ministry to preach the word of God, and for 30 years, he pastored in the African Methodist Episcopal Church under the jurisdiction of the South and Southwest Georgia Conferences. His pastoral ministry included Whigham Circuit & Little Bethel A.M.E. Church, South Georgia Conference; Hilton Circuit, Southwest Georgia Conference; Newberry A.M.E. Church, Southwest Georgia Conference; Payne Chapel A.M.E. Church, Southwest Georgia Conference; Aimwell A.M.E. Church, Southwest Georgia Conference; and Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, Southwest Georgia Conference. After briefly retiring to rediscover his love of farming, Rev. Brown was called back to the church and assigned to Ebenezer A.M.E. Church, Hilton, where he pastored for another four years before completely retiring in December, 2011. On a personal note, I am proud to have considered Rev. Jasper Brown, his late wife, Ruby Moore Brown, and the entire Brown and Moore Families as friends of longstanding. Their daughter, Alice, interned at the Georgia General Assembly while I was serving in the State House and she was a student at the University of Georgia. Through her, I eventually met the family, as attorney for her mother, the sister of the renowned Dr. Dallas Moore. Mrs. Ruby Brown had been seriously injured in a motor vehicle crash in Seminole County. My relationship with the Brown and Moore families has endured for over 3 decades and has been pivotal in my career and political success. I will be forever grateful for their friendship and support. Rev. Brown accomplished much in his life, but none of it would have been possible without the Grace of God and the love and support of his family as well as the countless others who impacted his life. His passing leaves a tremendous void in the lives of his children: Jasper, Jr., Derrell, Alice, Kendra, Deborah, Angela, Annette, and Anthony; brother, Virgil; sixteen grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; nieces, nephews, cousins; personal assistant, Ms. France Land; friend and companion, Ms. Petronia ``Sweet'' Mike; and countless other family and friends; all of whom will miss him deeply. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join my wife, Vivian, and me, along with the more than 730,000 people of Georgia's Second Congressional District, in honoring the life and legacy of the Reverend Jasper R. Brown, Sr. for his outstanding accomplishments in the ministry and his service to humankind. Moreover, we extend our deepest sympathies to Reverend Brown's family, friends, loved ones, and all who grieve during this difficult time of bereavement. We pray that they will be consoled and comforted by an abiding faith and the Holy Spirit in the weeks, months, and years ahead. ____________________