John Wesley Brown

John Wesley Brown, age 78, of Tallahassee, Florida, died at home on June 19, 2023, after a struggle with heart failure. He was born on December 20, 1944, in Valdosta, Ga. Known to many as Johnny, he spent most of his life on the family homestead and the road that would be named for his father, Victor Brown Road, on the northwest side of Tallahassee. He graduated from Florida State University with a dual degree in photography and cinematography but developed a career as a self-employed businessman running Shade & Shelter Tent Company, later Panhandle Supply, and See More Bleachers and Barricades. He helped put on countless weddings, parties, football games, and city festivals including Springtime Tallahassee and Winter Festival. A lover of art, philosophy, and dirty jokes; he was known across town as a man with a million stories to tell. A voracious reader and writer, everyone in his life got an earful of facts, fictions, and more newspaper clippings than they knew what to do with. He was very proud of having undergone pioneer open heart surgery at the age of 8 at Emory Hospital, and again at 17 years old at Shands Hospital in Gainesville. In honor and celebration of this, he has chosen to donate his body to medical science at the University of Florida. His memorial stone will read, “The Gators got ‘im.” John was preceded in death by his parents, Blanche Aline Brown and Victor Brown, as well as his two brothers, Joe Mac and Bobby. He is survived by his three daughters (Kitty Love, Lilith Christiansen, and Blanche Amelia Brown), two sisters, Vicki Fuqua and Jeannie Barrett (Tommy), four grandchildren, three ex-wives, an extended network of nieces and nephews and other family, many friends, and more than a few loyal foes. There will not be a public memorial but planting a milkweed bush or drinking an ice-cold Bud Light at the Salty Dawg would be perfect ways to honor him. Breanna Green of Bevis Funeral Home (850-385-2193 or www.bevisfh.com) is assisting the family with their arrangements.

Tributes

John Wesley Brown

December 20, 1944 - June 19, 2023