[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 21 (Thursday, March 5, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E311-E312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN REMEMBRANCE OF FRANK BROWN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JULIAN C. DIXON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 5, 1998

  Mr. DIXON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Frank Brown, a 
loving, devoted father and family man, decorated veteran, and a 
successful businessman who passed away in Los Angeles on December 21, 
1997.
  Frank was born on January 27, 1918, in Old Town, a section of 
Lewisville, Arkansas. His mother, Kate Bradley, and grandparents 
Kathryn and Abe, instilled in Frank and his sisters Bernice and Daisy, 
the solid foundation and commitment to community and family that would 
serve as his guiding principle for years to come. Following his 
graduation from Lewisville High School, Frank moved to Shreveport, 
Louisiana, where he worked in a lumber mill and played first base for 
one of the few semiprofessional black baseball teams, the Shreveport 
Black Sports.
  Frank answered his country's call in World War II, serving in the 
United States Army's 870th Engineering and Aviation Battalion in the 
South Pacific. He received numerous citations and medals for his 
distinguished military service and was honorably discharged in 1945. 
Upon leaving the Army, Frank realized one of his longtime goals of 
building a home for his mother in Arkansas.
  From Arkansas Frank moved to Los Angeles, California, where he 
married Odessa Brown, another Lewisville native, on May 21, 1946. Frank 
and Odessa produced five children: Marion, Gwendolyn, Kathleen, Frank, 
and Reginald. In Los Angeles, Frank pursued a career as a glazier and 
worked for years to break the color line in the once-segregated Glazier 
and Glass Workers Union, Local 636. He finally became a member of Local 
636 in 1953 and in 1965, founded Brown's Glass Company--Los Angeles' 
first Black-owned

[[Page E312]]

glass business. Recognizing the importance of his achievement to the 
black community in Los Angeles, Frank took the opportunity to share his 
knowledge and expertise with aspiring entrepreneurs by teaching at the 
Los Angeles Trade Technical College. He retired from the glass business 
in 1985 after more than 40 years in the profession.
  Aside from his professional accomplishments and love for his family, 
Frank's other passion was his membership in the Prince Hall Affiliation 
of the California Jurisdiction and several other fraternal 
organizations. After many years of dedicated and exemplary service, the 
United Supreme Council honored him with the 33rd Degree--one of the 
highest honors that can be achieved in Masonry.
  Frank was also active in the National Association for the Advancement 
of Colored People (NAACP) and the Los Angeles branch of the Urban 
League. A dedicated and devout Christian, Frank was a member of Los 
Angeles' famed Trinity Baptist Church for over fifty years. For more 
than thirty of those years, he served as a member of the Deacon Board, 
regularly and steadfastly participating in church projects, including 
the construction of Trinity's current sanctuary. In November 1997, 
during its 80th anniversary celebration, Trinity paid tribute to Frank 
for his selfless and enduring commitment to his church family.
  Mr. Speaker, I was privileged to know Frank Brown; his and Odessa's 
daughter--Gwendolyn Brown Byrd--served as my Legislative Director for 
several years prior to her appointment as Deputy Assistant Secretary 
for Health, Budgets and Programs at the Pentagon. He was a wonderful 
family man; a gentleman who instilled in his accomplished children the 
importance of family and commitment to public service and community. It 
is, therefore, fitting that his life be recognized in this manner. I 
ask that my colleagues join me in remembering his contribution to 
community and in extending our heartfelt condolences to his beloved 
family.

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