Thomas Francis Brown III

Rear Admiral Thomas F. Brown III (Retired), 87, of Scranton Pennsylvania, passed away on May 14th, in Madera California.

Funeral services will be held at some point in the future at Arlington National Cemetery.

Thomas a.k.a. “Tibby” was born in Scranton Pennsylvania to Thomas F. Brown Jr., and Marion Thompson Brown on October 23, 1932. He grew up in Scranton, and attended St. Paul High School. He married Martha C. Bramer on June 15, 1957 in Moffett Field Naval Chapel. He graduated from Mount Saint Mary’s College in1954 and entered Officer Candidate School. He graduated and was designated a Naval Aviator in 1956. Over his career he accumulated nearly 5000 flight hours, 1017 carrier arrested landings, and during three deployments to Vietnam flew 343 combat missions. His decorations included the Silver Star, Defense Superior Service Medal, five Legions of Merit, four Distinguished Flying Crosses, amongst a host of others. After his retirement in 1985, he became a Math teacher and administrator in San Francisco and an adjunct professor for the Naval War College. He served on many boards and was involved in numerous volunteering activities. He received an honorary Doctorate Degree from Mount Saint Mary’s College, and lifetime achievement awards from the Tailhook Association and the Naval Order of the United States. Thomas is preceded in death by parents Thomas F. Brown Jr. and Marion Thompson Brown, and brothers Donald Thompson Brown, and Bruce Thompson Brown.

Thomas is survived by wife Martha C. Brown, children Thomas F. Brown IV, Stephanie Garcia (Markcos), Deidre da Silva (Tom), Donald Brown (Renee), grandchildren Ryan Garcia, Thomas F. Brown V, Kelsey Bolton, Jason Garcia, Juliana da Silva, Corey Garcia, Alexandra da Silva and four great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to St. Peter’s and Paul’s Church at 666 Filbert St. San Francisco CA 94133. The family of Thomas wishes to extend our sincere thanks to Dr. Ali Rashidian for his wonderful care and guidance.