James Seay Brown

A memorial service for James Seay Brown, age 93, will be held Monday, November 25 at 10 am at First Baptist Church of Cookeville with Dr. Randall Adkisson, Rev. Mike Head and Rev. Charles Hutchinson officiating. The family will receive friends Sunday from 4 pm until 6 pm at Hooper Huddleston & Horner Funeral Home. Mr. Brown died November 22, 2013 at his home surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife of 72 years, Virginia Lee Fritts Brown (whom he married July 25, 1941 in Monterey); son and daughter-in-law, Dr. James Seay and Linda Faye Brown, Jr. of Birmingham, AL, daughter and son-in-law, Rebekah Brown and Dr. David Chaffin of Cleveland, TN; six grandchildren and their spouses: Dr. Andrea Brown and Dr. Reed Brozen of Plainfield, NH; Dr. Curt and Chris Chaffin, Jr. of Signal Mountain, TN; Dr. James Seay and Betty Brown III of Sugarland, TX; Rachel and Brian Scott of Ringgold, GA; Katy Brown of Abingdon, VA, and Virginia Chaffin and Ryan Breneman of Chattanooga, TN; eleven great-grandchildren: Sarah, Hannah, and Elizabeth Scott, Alison, Will, and Owen Brown, Isabel Brozen, Andrew and Ella Breneman, and Brown and Joseay Chaffin; a sister-in-law, June Reid Brown of Gallatin, TN; a nephew, William T. Brown of Birmington, AL and a niece, Mary Reed Thompson of Castalian Springs, TN. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, Robert Lee Brown. Mr. Brown was born February 8, 1920 in Franklin, KY to the William Seay and Mary Rose Dinning Brown. He grew up and finished high school in Gallatin, TN, and graduated from Tennessee Polytechnic Institute (now Tennessee Technological University) in 194 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He earned an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1950 from the University of Illinois. Mr. Brown was a faculty member in the College of Engineering at TTU from 1941 to his retirement in 1979, interrupted only by his service in the U.S. Navy during WWII. He was the first Chairman of the Mechanical Engineering Department, serving as Chair from 1952 until he became Dean of the College of Engineering in 1961, the position he held until his retirement. Mr. Brown was a registered Professional Engineer and served two terms as a member of the Tennessee Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners. Mr. Brown was active in civic and community affairs. He has been a member of the Cookeville Noonday Rotary Club since 1955 and served as president of the Club in 1959-60. He chaired the Cookeville Tomorrow Long-range Study Committee, and volunteered with many organizations, including the Upper Cumberland District of the Boy Scouts, the Putnam County Habitat for Humanity, Cookeville Pregnancy Clinic and Cookeville Regional Medical Center's Auxiliary. He had been a member of First Baptist Church of Cookeville since 1946, where he sang in the church choir, served as a deacon, taught Sunday School, chaired two building committees involved in major construction projects, and was an active member of many church committees. Interment will be in Crest Lawn Cemetery in a private ceremony. Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church Building Fund, 18 S. Walnut Avenue, Cookeville, TN; or TTU College of Engineering, P.O. Box 5047, Cookeville, TN 38505.