Mr. C. HAROLD BROWN

FORT WORTH -- C. Harold Brown, a Fort Worth civic leader and founder of Brown Pruitt Wambsganss Ferrill & Dean Law Firm, died Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016. Mr. Brown was 85. Funeral: Services and interment will be held in Mendenhall, Miss. Memorials: Consideration of contributions to Rials Creek United Methodist Church, 185 Rials Creek Rd, Mendenhall, Miss. 39114, in his memory, is suggested. Born in rural Mendenhall, Miss. on July 28, 1931, Harold was the son of Claud Solomon and Mildred Bush Brown. After the end of World War II, Brown moved with his parents to Memphis, Tenn., graduating from Central High School in 1951. As a stand-out athlete in high school, he set the Tennessee state record in the 100-meter hurdles and was elected captain of the track team. Brown also played football, where his team won the state championship his senior year, and he was awarded first team All-City, first team All-State and first team All-American honors, as a two-way starter both as an offensive and defensive end. He accepted a football scholarship to Vanderbilt and played two years before being drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War where he attained the rank of Staff Sgt. while serving in Panama. Following his military service, he returned to school where he helped lead Vanderbilt to its first bowl game appearance and bowl win, beating Auburn in the 1955 Gator Bowl. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Brown entered Vanderbilt Law School and then transferred to the University of Texas. He graduated in 1960 and started practicing law in Fort Worth for the McDonald Sanders Law Firm. In 1963, Brown served as president of the Fort Worth Junior Bar Association. In the early 70s, Brown and his father-in-law, Sproesser Wynn, withdrew from McDonald Sanders and formed a new law firm with Elmo Irby, Milledge McConnico and Ted Mack, which later became Wynn, Brown, Mack, Renfro and Thompson. In 1991 Brown, Randy Thompson, Brown's son-in-law, Chris Pruitt, and Bill Peterson formed the law firm of Brown and Thompson. Brown practiced law for 51 years until he retired in 2012. He served as a director of the Edna Gladney Home from 1963 to 1993, was a director of the National Committee for Adoption for 12 years and the Texas Association of Licensed Children's Services. He further served as chairman and director for the Tarrant County Convention Center of Fort Worth for 12 years, was chairman and a member of the Fort Worth Civil Service Commission for 14 years, past director of Fort Worth Council Camp Fire Girls and past chairman and director of the Southwestern Law Institute. Additionally, Brown served as director of the A.J. & Jessie Duncan Foundation, from 1960 until his death. He was the recipient of the Carnegie Hero Certificate issued by the Carnegie Hero Foundation Commission of 1972 and was voted 1976 Outstanding Young Texan. He was a life member and president of Moslah Temple Shrine Patrol and a member of Royal Order of Jesters, Court #32 and the Order of Constantine. He also served as a director and president of the American Brittany Club. Brown was an avid hunter. He also bred and trained Brittany Spaniel bird dogs, competing in state and national field trial competitions. He later became a well-known breeder of champion Tennessee Walking Horses. Brown is preceded in death by his parents and first wife, Carol Wynn. Survivors: In addition to his second wife, Alicia Whitworth Brown, Harold is survived by four children, Tracey Gwen Brown, Terry and her husband, Christopher J. Pruitt, Allison "Bunny" and her husband, J. Todd Snyder and Hal and his wife, Camille; two step-sons, Mark Whitworth and his wife, Jill and Todd Whitworth; and his beloved grandchildren, Mary Caroline Pruitt, Elizabeth Pruitt, Kirsten Pruitt, Colton Brown, Sarah Brown, Hallie Brown, Samantha Green, Haley Whitworth, Gavin Whitworth and Ryder Whitworth. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Mr. C. HAROLD BROWN please visit our Sympathy Store.