W. ROBERT BROWN
1929-2019
W. Robert Brown passed away in Houston on Friday, the 4th of October 2019. He was 89 years of age.
Bob was born December 23, 1929 in Andalusia, Alabama, the youngest of three sons of William Herman Brown and Emma Sims Brown.
Bob graduated from Andalusia High School in 1948, and attended the University of Texas at Austin on a Naval ROTC scholarship. In his senior year, Bob was named ROTC battalion commander. He graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in chemistry and German.
After graduation he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. Bob completed several assignments, including one in Korea, where he served as an infantry platoon leader.
Bob returned to Texas and attended the University of Texas School of Law, receiving his JD in 1957. He was a lead trial lawyer and name partner in three law firms: Liddell Sapp, Zivley & Brown; Miller, Bristow & Brown; and Brown, Campbell, Harrison & Wright.
While Bob handled hundreds of lawsuits during his career, there were two that he found especially compelling. Pennzoil vs. Texaco, a hostile corporate takeover fight involving Getty Oil Company, garnered national headlines. Hill vs. Robinson was a wrongful death action in which Bob represented
Ash Robinson, a prominent Houston oilman. Ash Robinson’s story is chronicled in the best-seller, Blood and Money.
In 1993, Bob and his classmates established a scholarship foundation in his hometown for Andalusia High School graduates. He served as chairman for many years, and an outstanding graduate award was established in his honor.
Bob was active in alumni scholarship activities of the University of Texas Naval ROTC. In 1970, he created the Midshipmans Foundation to assist the Crow’s Nest Co-op. Since then, and with the help and leadership of many dedicated alumni, the Midshipmans Foundation has become a source of scholarship support, and has helped many members of the UT NROTC Battalion to fully realize their leadership in military service.
Bob sang the baritone part in Barbershop-style, four-part harmony with the Houston Tidelanders Chorus and numerous quartets. He loved to fish, fly his plane, and work at his farm with his beloved dogs, Skipper and Holly, by his side. Bob and his wife, Judy, enjoyed traveling and spending time at their Bay house.
The family wishes to extend special thanks to Dr. Oscar R. Rosales, who provided Bob with outstanding care and friendship for more than 20 years.
Bob is survived by his wife, Judith Reeves Brown; his daughter, Helen BrownKay, her husband Timothy Kay, and their daughter
Cicely Kay; and his sons Matt Brown and Doug Brown. He was predeceased by his parents; his brothers, Herman Eugene Brown and Joseph Marcus Brown; and his former wife, Audrey Johnson Brown.
The family will receive friends from five o’clock in the afternoon until seven o’clock in the evening on Thursday, the 17th of October, in the Grand Foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.
A memorial service and celebration of Bob’s life will be conducted at noon on Friday, the 18th of October, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, where the Rev.
Dr. Brett W. McCleneghan will officiate. Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the adjacent Grand Foyer.
Please visit Mr. Brown’s online memorial tribute at GeoHLewis.com where memories and words of comfort and condolence may be shared electronically with his family.
In lieu of customary remembrances, and for those desiring, memorials may be made to the Andalusia Scholarship Foundation, P.O. Box 603, Andalusia, Alabama, 36420; and The Midshipmans Foundation, Robert Gartner, Treasurer, 6908 Bayridge Terrace, Austin, Texas, 78759.