Louie Brown

Louie William Brown, a longtime resident of Oroville, California, was born on March 22nd, 1932, in Walters, Oklahoma, to John Thomas and Artie Mae (Durbin) Brown. The second youngest of 8 children, Louie grew up in the Walters area, and attended the little country school west of Walters known as Emerson, walking there in sunshine, rain, or snow until graduating 8th grade there. He continued his education at Walters High School with the class of 1950 until he turned 18.

He was drafted into the Army in December, 1952, during the Korean War, and completed training at Fort Ord, California, before being stationed at Fort Lawton, Washington. While on leave, he returned to Lawton, Oklahoma to marry his sweetheart, Lorain Dickenson, on November 2nd, 1953.

After completing 2 years in the Army, and serving his country with distinction, earning the Good Conduct Medal and the National Defense Service Medal, he returned to Oklahoma with Lorain and they settled down in Altus, Oklahoma, to start a new life together. A talented, hard-working hands-on man, Louie worked as and became a highly-skilled carpenter, while Lorain kept busy as a housewife and mother to their five children born in Altus: Daughters Shelley, Sharon, Janet, and Glenda, followed by their first son, Gerald. In 1965, hearing from friends of the good fortunes to be made farther west and wanting a better life for his already large family, Louie and Lorain moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Two months later, the Browns welcomed their second son, Jeffrey, making the family complete with a total of six children.

Albuquerque was just a stopover location, and six months later they moved on to the San Francisco Bay area of California, to continue raising their children. Louie worked and refined his craft as a carpenter, and became a respected general contractor along the way. Always a man who held a deep connection to Oklahoma, every summer possible the family would return to spend time with the kinfolk, even helping to build an entire house for Louie’s brother, Paul.

Eventually, Louie and Lorain would see their beloved children grow up, marry, and start to raise families of their own. Having spent many family trips enjoying the vast riches of the California outdoors, the Browns retired to the secluded foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Oroville, California, around 1989. He loved the freedom of working on the land, gold panning in his creeks, and spending countless hours tending to his garden. Louie and Lorain’s children would ultimately bless them with 12 grandkids, which expanded to 21 great-grandchildren and 2 great-great-grandchildren!

Louie and Lorain maintained a fruitful, loving relationship and marriage for 57 years, until her passing on August 22nd, 2011. Suffering such a deep loss, he continued on for over 8 years more, but finally succumbed to a lung infection, departing for heaven on December 23rd, 2019, to once again be with his darling bride, Lorain. He was 87 years, 9 months, 1 day old on the day of his passing.

Louie is survived by one sister, Helen Peck, one sisterin-law, Joyce Jackson, and all his children, grandchildren, great- and great-great-grandchildren, plus countless nieces and nephews of his and Lorain’s. In addition to Lorain, Louie was preceded in death by his parents, five brothers and one sister: Lawrence Haley, J.T. Brown, Carl Brown, Paul Brown, Dorothy Howeth, and Clyde Brown.

A viewing on Wednesday, January 8th, will begin at 9 am with visitation from 6 to 8 pm that evening at the Hart-Wyatt Funeral Home in Walters.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 am on Thursday, January 9th, at the St. Patrick Catholic Church in Walters, followed by the burial at the Walters Cemetery -- next to his beloved wife, Lorain, and his parents. All are welcomed to attend and honor the life and memories of our lost - but never forgotten - Louie William Brown. We will dearly miss him.