Harold "Hal" Brown was born in Sabetha, KS to Ruby Sharrah and Harold Brown on April 22, 1945. He grew up there with his younger brother, Jerry, and sister Vicki.

He was a Sergeant in the United States Air Force and a Vietnam vet. One day, he was at basic training as a young man, he tried to drink all the beer in Texas, then went to go hunt rattlesnakes. He ended up in the hospital from that rattlesnake bite and ended up with a nifty scar on his leg. He always noted that he was unsuccessful at drinking all the beer in Texas. Also, this may be why he said that the only good snake is a dead snake. He wanted to be a pilot but couldn't because of his eyesight. He served in Special Forces. Two missions he told us about… one was in Vietnam. A serviceman was on the ground and was taking heavy fire, completely surrounded, it was believed that only one person was alive on the ground. He gave the order to repel down because you don't leave a man behind. When they reached the ground they were met with heavy fire and couldn't get out. So my dad called in an air strike and they all covered up with dead bodies. He didn't lose anyone else that day. He did eventually meet the man he saved at St. Agnes at donuts after Mass. Another mission he told us about was when he was a courier of top secret documents that didn't exist, and he was delivering them to a specific country that can't be named. He got off the plane and handed them to the meet man. When Dad turned around, the man shot him in the side. Dad sadly killed him, and would tell you that he would've carried the documents to the guy's car over killing him any day. He also may or may not have gone to a not so super secret military base near Vegas, and was definitely was not allowed off the plane. He returned home from war only to be spat on for wearing his uniform. He didn't take it well. He worked at the dairy in Sabetha after he returned home, and lost most of his hearing because of the machines. He was a UPS truck driver for over 40 years, and was a Knight of Columbus. He was the love of my mother's life, Julie Brown. He was a father, a Dad, a Daddy, a Grandpa, a crap-pa, a Papa, a Poppy, and a Pop. Before she passed in 2018, they shared a huge life full of service to the church, raising a mess of kids, spoiling grandkids and, according to the grandkids, cheating at checkers. When his kids were younger, he loved to coast down really big hills to conserve gas, and drive fast to Born to be Wild in his old Chevette with a rusted out floor. I'm pretty sure it flew a couple times. But he always planned to get a 55 Ford Fairlane in baby blue. Growing up you would find him randomly dancing in the kitchen with Mom to Conway Twitty, and could count on him to stay up all night to baste the turkey for holidays (which really meant taste the stuffing). He helped mom organize, fundraise, and even attended the March for life bus trips with millions of teens, working hard on vocations. He was the ultimate master at biscuits and gravy. The trick is Jimmy Dean sausage. He loved making breakfast for his grandkids, especially after being told that they wanted it the next morning, but they always waited til after dark to put in their request. So he was also good at late night grocery store runs. He perfected Mickey Mouse pancakes for grandkids. And when someone would mention that the food was hot, he would always respond "it's hard to cook cold food". He liked visiting Moms sister and brother in law, Sallie and Tom Morgan, in Erie Pa, and enjoyed a good smiths bologna sandwich. Later in life enjoyed Texas Roadhouse on Thursdays, Cupcake moscato evenings, cereal races with grandkids, and he liked watching Mash and NCIS. He loved dogs (but not cats), he liked western shirts with snaps, a big belt buckle, and his boots. He drank a pot of black coffee to start every day. He's one of the only people that enjoys corned beef hash. He was early morning daily Mass on YouTube at St Peter's Basilica in New York, a daily rosary, and many prayer books. He loved watching Caitlin Clark shoot 3's, Chiefs football, and despised remotes because the buttons were small and often would get stepped on by a dog, thus sending his bed into zero gravity mode while simultaneously turning the tv to the wrong channel. He liked a good homemade chef salad but had an aversion to most vegetables that didn't come from a can. He loved watching the grandkids many sporting events, but had a problem with arguing with the refs. For awhile he had trouble walking, but conveniently always "forgot" his cane. When caught sneaking strawberry rhubarb pie, and being reminded he was diabetic, he would joke, "no I'm Catholic". He never snored a day in his life. He told us he stayed awake one night just to see and didn't snore once. He loved Blessed Mother candles, old spice, and he gave great hugs. And he loved corresponding with the Dominican sisters. He loved singing fun songs like Rubber Ducky, and leaving singing voicemails for birthdays, but always in an Elvis voice. And his favorite thing about going to town was wearing his Vietnam Vet hat, because when people thanked him for his service he got say "It was my honor."

In 2015, Harold and Julie moved in with Maryteresa and her family, and they loved being a part of the grandkids life every day. On July 27th, 2026, Harold Brown went to be with our Lord and Savior.

He is preceded in death by Julie Brown, his wife of almost 40 years and his parents, Ruby and Harold Brown, and Agnes (Julie's daughter).

He is survived by:

Maryteresa Kissell (daughter), her husband, Joseph, and their children Grace, Joshua (Hal's Godson), and William.

Amanda Hyskell (daughter), her children Aidan and Eva.

Raeann Holloman (Julie's daughter), her children, Michael, Martin, Chrystausha, and Symmihn, as well as the great grandchildren, Michael Jr., Asja, Eva, Noah, Mateo, Ariel, Amir, Maasen, Truth, and Saint.

Harold Brown Jr. (son), his wife, Machelle, and their children, Alyssa Kautz and her husband, Leslie, and Ashley Brown, as well as the great-grandchildren, William and Blayke.

Sheila Mendez (daughter)

Brian Brown (son) and his children, Cody Maloney (Kacie) and Alysa Frakes, as well as the great-grandchildren, Mia, Teagan, Jaxson, Arick, and Nakia.

Christopher Henderson (Julie's son), his children Caralea and Brychan.

Jerry Brown (brother)

Vicki Cortez (sister), and husband Rick

Sallie Morgan (sister in law), and husband Tom Morgan

There are a great number of adopted grandchildren also, and he loved them all.

Funeral details are as follows:

Visitation - August 6th, 2026 at 9:00am at Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church, 5501 Monticello Rd, Shawnee, KS. 66226.

Rosary will begin at 9:40am.

Funeral Mass will begin at 10:00am

Military Burial at 2:30pm promptly at Leavenworth National Cemetery 150 Muncie Rd, Leavenworth, KS. 66048

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made in Hal's memory. Donations will be directed to the charitable organizations he cared deeply about. To contribute, please contact Maryteresa at maryteresakissell@gmail.com.