Thomas Alden Brown, 64, died Tuesday evening, March 29, 2016,at the Spring Manor group home in Carrollton, Mo., his residence of many years, after a long battle with Alzheimer‘s Disease.
He was born on Jan. 9, 1952 in Chillicothe, Mo., the first born child and eldest son of Thomas V. and Sarah J. Brown, now of Trenton.
Born with Down Syndrome, Mr. Brown lived for many years at the Higginsville (Mo.) State School and Hospital, where he benefited greatly from the skill and compassion exhibited by caring staff members, especially the administrator, the late Kitty Morris.
His welfare and quality of life were likewise enhanced by excellent caregivers at Spring Manor where he lived much of his adult life, and where he experienced a great deal of joy and fulfillment as a longtime employee of the nearby sheltered workshop, Opportunity Enterprises, Inc.
Though forced to spend much time away from his immediate family, a separation that caused much sadness, he often spent weekends and extended vacations with Tom and Sarah at their Trenton home, and he traveled extensively with them during pleasure trips to Colorado, Washington, D.C., the Ozarks, Kansas City, and other destinations.
For a number of summers, Mr. Brown participated in the Camp Rainbow outdoor experience for the disabled at Crowder State Park near Trenton and alternate locations in southern Missouri.
He was also an enthusiastic Special Olympics athlete, competing in both bowling and basketball.
Mr. Brown was especially fond of live music and was never more in his element than when relishing the performances of professional entertainers at the Starlight Theater in Kansas City and any number of theater venues on “the strip” in Branson.
His favorite music was made by performers associated with television’s Lawrence Welk Show, which he watched faithfully and enthusiastically, often conducting the orchestra along with Mr. Welk using a makeshift baton.
Mr. Brown was an acquaintance of Welk personality Mary Lou Metzger, who once, along with other Welk performers, organized a special dance party in his honor.
Despite a life constrained by disability, Mr. Brown was noted for his loving, benevolent, and gracious manner, which earned him many, many friends.
Whether in the company of the wealthy and politically well-connected -- including such notables as former Missouri Gov. Kit Bond and his former wife, Carolyn, -- or Sunday school children at the country church where he often attended services with his family, “Tommy” was always the same warm and deeply human man.
He paid no heed to skin color, nationality, prestige, poverty, brilliance, ignorance, affluence, or fame, but rather looked through eyes that only saw love.
Mr. Brown is survived by his parents; his brother and sister-in-law Tony and Venus Brown of Maryville, Mo.; his uncle Jim Alden of Melbourne, Mo.; his aunt Shirley Kelley of Hopkins, Mo.; his cousins Marsha and Emmit Williams of Marshall, Mo.; the two Williams’ daughters, Erin and Erica; and his cousin Paul Alden of Brimson.
He was preceded in death by his uncle and aunt, Leland and Eva Maxwell; his aunt Emma Brown; and his grandmothers Dora Brown and Pauline Alden.
Funeral services will take place at 10:30 a.m. Friday, April 1, at the Whitaker-Eads funeral chapel, 813 Custer St., in Trenton. Visitation will precede the service at 9:30 a.m. at the funeral home.
Donations are requested in lieu of flowers to Opportunity Enterprises Inc.
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