James Lee Brown's Obituary
James Lee Brown son of James and Paralee who was born in Lakemont, GA was
known by many names. Jimmy, Jimmy Lee, Son, Brother, Husband, Honey, Daddy,
GrandDaddy, Pappy and Airplane Pappy. He was a good man who lived a life full of
adventure, hard work and fun. When Jim was 5 he was gifted with an airplane ride over
the Macon skies. When he landed he knew what he wanted to do with his life – fly.
There where other jobs that challenged him over the years but the idea of owning and
flying his own plane was always in his mind. Jim worked at that goal and went on to
earn many certificates and licenses in the aviation field. If it had wings and engine Jim
could fly it and fix it. At one point Jim and his former wife Kay had a dream to start their
own aviation business. To that mind they petitioned The Perry City Council to lease
Myrtle Field, an old WWII training field. During the day Kay ran the business while Jim
continued to work at RAFB and at night and the weekends Jim taught a multitude of
students to fly. In short order they built one of the largest flight schools in the Southeast
and were the largest Cessna dealer south of the Mississippi. During this time Jim also
built a large state of the art aviation and maintenance building that is still in use today.
In his later life Jim turned to the home rental business. He eventually bought 44 single-
family rental homes. Jim was a master of many trades and provided all the maintenance
on for those homes. In this endeavor he mentored several young men who worked for
him and taught them many valuable skills. He was an expert in plumbing, electrical,
woodworking, painting, carpet and tile laying and repair and landscaping.
Jim loved adventure, from putting a plane down on a sandy beach to riding the 318
curves of the Dragon’s Tail on his Silverwing motorcycle – FAST. He camped, canoed,
flew and sailed with his children who now camp and boat with their children and
grandchildren. In his later life Jim took great pleasure in restoring a broken down house
on 9 acres into a showplace in which he hosted huge family parties and epic weenie
roasts. The first words from the grandchildren as they arrived was always, “Can I start
the fire?” They had woods to roam in and trails to ride the go-cart on and every year
there was an Easter egg hunt that culminated in a huge water gun fight. Jim always had
the biggest gun! He also carved out a large section for a garden and soon, as with
everything he did, became the master gardener. The garden was huge and bountiful
and fed his family for many seasons. Jim also had a large shop built on the property
which he filled to capacity. Some family members called if his own personal Home
Depot. He spent many hours puttering in his toy room.
Jim was a believer from a young age. In his earlier years he was and ordained preacher
who loved to preach the Word and as he grew older his faith grew deeper. When asked
if he was saved he would reply, “Once saved, always saved!” During the past few years
Jim was not able to attend a brick and mortar church but he was a faithful attendee of
TV church. Jim regularly communed with God always thanking him for his goodness
and mercy. He prayed nightly for his family and friends and especially for his country
which he dearly loved. He prayed for God’s blessing and healing powers for all.
In addition to his parents, his brother Gary and his beloved uncles, Lin and Dorsey
proceeded him in death. His boys, Bubba Grunt Brown, Chunkers and his best buddy
Chance the Wonder Dog have also gone before him and are waiting for him at the
rainbow bridge.
Jim is survived by his wife and best friend of over 40 years, Mary-Joy Harkinson Brown,
his 4 girls and their spouses, Laurie and Bryan Walston and Shannon and Patrick
Grieshop of Perry, GA, Melissa and Dan Enzmann of Gainesville GA, and Erinn Brown
of Oakwood GA. He is also survived by the son of his heart, his Yankee, Fred Martin
and by his 12 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to FOPAS (Friends of the Perry Animal
Shelter), 204 Kellwood Dr. Perry, GA 31069 or Guide Dogs for the Blind, P.O. Box
151200, San Rafael, CA, 94915.
Visitation will be Sunday, February 27, 2022 from 2:00pm to 3:00pm at Watson Hunt Funeral home and a graveside service will be at 3:00pm at Perry Memorial Gardens.
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