Obituary of Benjamin A. Brown, 91
Benjamin Andrew Brown Sr. Sr.
April 30, 1933 – May 11, 2024
– It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ben A. (Benjamin) Brown on Saturday afternoon, May 11, 2024, in Templeton, California.
Ben was born April 30, 1933, in Red House, WV to parents Albert Miller (AM) Brown and Mary Agnes Donegan Brown. Ben enjoyed a wonderful childhood growing up in Winfield, WV where his father served as Putnam County Clerk for six terms and Ben graduated from Winfield High School in 1951.
Ben was a lifelong journalist who loved the press. His first venture into journalism came as a boy self-publishing a “newspaper” about local events. While in high school he worked part-time for the weekly paper, The Putnam Democrat. He was editor and of the Winfield High School newspaper and yearbook.
He also loved sports. Staying in bed while recovering from rheumatic fever, his father helped entertain him by teaching him to keep score of baseball and following the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals baseball teams on the radio.
From 1951 to 1954, he attended Morris Harvey College (now the University of Charleston) in Charleston, WV. He was director of sports information at Morris Harvey College from 1952 to 1954 and worked as sports editor of the Morris Harvey student newspaper and yearbook. From 1954-1955 he attended Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla graduating in 1955 with a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in journalism. He remained an ardent FSU fan his entire life.
Ben returned to Charleston after graduation and worked on the sports staff of the Charleston Daily Mail. He worked there from 1955 until 1957.
In 1957, Ben became a newsman with The Associated Press in the AP’s Charlotte, N.C. bureau. He was there until 1966, rising to the position of new editor (assistant chief of bureau) for North Carolina and South Carolina in 1963.
In 1966, he was appointed correspondent in charge of the St. Louis bureau. He held this position until 1968 when he was named chief of the Helena, MT bureau of the AP. In 1970, he moved to Minneapolis as chief of bureau for Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
In 1976, Ben became a newspaper membership executive at the general headquarters of the AP in New York. He was a general executive of the AP when he was appointed chief of bureau in Los Angeles in 1978. He held that position until 1982 when he returned to New York as a general executive in the membership department. He continued as a general executive of the AP until he retired in March 1993.
Ben loved working for the AP. He admired and respected his many colleagues across the country and the world. In his news career, Brown covered integration stories in the South, professional football, basketball, and baseball in St. Louis, including the 1967 World Series. As chief of bureau, he helped direct the coverage of the Rapid City S.D., flood in 1972 that left 238 dead, the takeover of Wounded Knee, S.D., by a group of American Indians and elections in several states.
Ben met his lifelong sweetheart, Joanne Harder, while working at a cafeteria in Charleston. They were married on May 22, 1956 and remained married for 66 years until she passed away in May 2023. In 1993, they retired to Paso Robles, CA, a lovely town on the Central Coast of California. They enjoyed retirement in in Paso Robles, exploring the backroads of California’s Central Coast, the coastal towns of San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties, the nearby national parks, Yosemite and Sequoia, the mid-State fair, concerts in the park and of course, the many wonderful local restaurants. They traveled and spent time with family throughout retirement and Ben also volunteered as an advisor of the student newspaper at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo County and taught a class in journalism at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Together, they raised award-winning roses.
Ben and Joanne were very proud of their four children, four grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They had four children: Andy (LuAnn), Minneapolis, Minn.; Gretchen (John), Templeton, California and Northport, MI.; Mark (Janet), Thousand Oaks, Calif.; and Betsy (Mike), Phoenix, Ariz.; and four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Ben was also very close to his sister, Mary Maddox of Corolla, NC, and her family and Joanne’s family, including Clark and Barbara Harder of Wimauma, FL.
Ben lived a full life. He was a kind and gentle man who loved his family, his work, the Associated Press, FSU football, family dogs and people in general. He was always there and supported others. He will be greatly missed and loved and remembered forever.
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