Thomas V. Brown 1924-2018

Funeral services for Thomas Brown were held Dec. 5 at the First Baptist Church in Trenton. The body was cremated following the service with future inurnment at Resthaven Memorial Gardens of Trenton. Arrangements were by Whitaker Eads Funeral Home, Trenton.  Memorial donations are suggested to either the Grundy County Learning Center or the Sarah Joe Brown and Thomas V. Brown Scholarship at North Central Missouri College and may be left with or mailed to the funeral home.
Thomas Virgil Brown, 94, died Dec. 1, 2018, in Trenton.
Mr. Brown was born Aug. 9, 1924, in Harrison County, the son of Thomas Armfield Brown and Dora M. Brown
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his son Thomas Alden Brown, five sisters, including Emma Ruth Brown and Eva Jane Maxwell, and one brother.
Tom and Sarah were married Aug. 11, 1947, and celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary last summer.
Mr. Brown played basketball for Gilman High School, where he graduated in 1942, shortly before enlisting in the Marine Corps after the United States entered World War II.
Mr. Brown worked briefly in a milk plant and as a reporter for a newspaper in Chillicothe. Following his marriage to Sarah, he studied social science, history and journalism at what is now Truman State University in Kirksville, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1949 and a master’s degree in political science in 1962.
Mr. Brown began his education career in Fayette before being hired to teach history at Trenton High School. A few years later he was named an instructor of history and political science at Trenton Junior College, since retitled North Central Missouri College.
Mr. Brown completed a graduate studies program in African-American history at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., and served briefly on the staff of U.S. Congressman Jerry Litton in Washington, D.C.
He authored or co-authored three books: “A Grundy County Pictorial History;” “Better Than They Knew,” a history of North Central Missouri College; and “Me ’n’ Joe.”
Mr. Brown served three terms on the Trenton City Council. In the 1960s, he was an assistant Scoutmaster for Trenton’s Troop 99 of the Boy Scouts of America and tapped for membership in Mic-O-Say.
He was an ordained deacon for Melbourne Baptist Church, and a Sunday school teacher for many years.
Mr. Brown played a key role in crafting Senate Bill 40. Additionally Mr. Brown was a longtime member of the state Protective and Advocacy Council for the Developmentally Disabled and three-time president of the Higginsville State School and Hospital Parents’ Association. During this time, Mr. Brown led the Retardation Association of Missouri.
He was appointed to the Missouri Mental Health Commission by Gov. Christopher Bond.

Survivors include his wife, Sarah Joe Brown, nee Alden, of the home; and a son, Anthony J. Brown (Venus) of Maryville.