Grover Lee Brown Jr.

(VALLEY) Grover Lee Brown Jr., a jovial, loving, kind-hearted Renaissance man, and accomplished sportsman, passed away peacefully at East Alabama Medical Center on Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, with the love of his family surrounding him. He was 68 years old.

Born on Aug. 20, 1954, in Shreveport, La., Grover was the only son of the late Faye Boswell Brown and Grover Lee Brown, Sr. He spent his youth in the bayous of Louisiana before moving to Valley, Ala.. As an adolescent Grover enjoyed fishing, playing in the lake or bayou, and would often be found wrangling some type of wildlife usually an alligator or snake. Like most young boys he enjoyed staying active and quickly found a love for football. He was a local star in his own right as he held a position on the high school junior varsity squad when he was only in junior high.

After school he joined the United States Air Force then later enjoyed working off shore on oil rigs for many years before attending Opelika Technical School. Post college he worked for Data Tech in Opelika and Shape South in Dadeville, Ala. in management. Following his employment with Shape, he founded A&L Enterprises which was a parent company to many others including a trucking company and a food mart before he took an early retirement to help raise his children and live his sportsman’s dream of fishing and hunting at his leisure.

Growing up Grover may have been a typical boy, but there were plenty of women in his life to keep him in line. They were probably a little too numerous for him as he wasn’t always quite sure what to do with all the estrogen surrounding him. Having only sisters, he was especially grateful for his cousin, Mike Posey and his lifelong friends Gary East and Ellis Henessee, whom he claimed as his brothers to help him survive. He dearly loved his mom, Fay, who with the help of her sister and his favorite aunt Joyce (deceased) helped rear Grover when they lived in Louisiana. Those were no doubt the most important and respected ladies in his life until his four girls came along. He loved them well, but seemed to gain the most joyous thrill in seeing what fashion faux pas he could embrace to embarrass them the most and always tried his best to get a rise out of them even if he had to make up something to do it. Despite his claims of having all the girls around being torture, he would do anything to protect any of the ladies in his life and give them everything they wanted.

His four boys were the beat of his heart however as he loved having someone to show the ropes of the great outdoors. Some were more receptive than others to embrace that lifestyle, yet each of them have memories and a story of their time with Grover either fishing, in the woods, or his choice of unique gifts that almost always included wild game.

He had a life-long love affair with the great outdoors. As an avid hunter and fisherman, he was his happiest when he was in the woods or on the lake. He was always hunting or fishing for something. Whether it was a trophy buck he had been tracking, a wild boar in South Georgia, or a big bass in Eufaula, Grover didn’t discriminate and enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. He enjoyed being one with nature and the peace the stillness brought him. He was a thinker and liked to be where he could do his best thinking. He liked to be at peace and that was most definitely in nature.

He was a talker, a charmer, a deal maker, treasure hunter, and life saver who had a heart bigger than Texas, and a laugh that would carry you for days. Grover was a friend to many and always tried to help others even if it meant him doing without. Though his stature was strong and his voice was sometimes gruff, his heart was that of a teddy bear.

Grover was a man of many passions aside from fishing and hunting that included adventure seeking, cooking, mystery solving, reading, relic hunting and later on in life, his grandchildren. He enjoyed the likes of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies far more than his children would have preferred. He was an engineer by design and could fix literally anything. He was a great cook and delighted in coming up with new creations that he most always described as “World Class”. Grover was a simple man, but he did enjoy some of the finest delicacies in life although none were quite as good as his beloved Vienna sausages, pickled pig feet, Italian dressing, and hot sauce.

Grover will be dearly missed by his children, Wendy Wofford (Brad) of Opelika, Larry Brown (Darlene) of Moreland, Ga., She’Na Cain (Zac) of Dallas, Ga., Justin Brown (Amy) of Beulah, Casey Brown of Marianna, Fla., Michael Brown of Lanett, Christopher Brown of Jacksonville, NC and Amber Blackmon of Cragford; his “grandchillin”, Brook and Bree Wofford of Opelika, Courtney Brown of Roanoke, Jason Cain of Dallas, Ga., Hunter, Kolten, and Cannan Brown, Cobie and Dralin Foster, Kolten Brown, Quay Wyatt, Malayah Phillips Beulah, AL and Madison Lyons of Marianna, Fla..; numerous extended family members and friends.

Grover was preceded in death by his parents, Fay and Grover Brown; his former wife, Mary Voncille Brown; siblings, Nancy Gause Mason, Gwendolyn Waites and Sheila Robinson

To honor Grover’s memory, there will be a casual celebration of life memorial at 2 p.m. EST on Sunday, Jan. 29, at the Eagle View Pavilion on West Point Lake, 500 Resource Management Rd, West Point, GA 31833. We invite anyone who knew him to attend and remember his wonderful life at one of his favorite places with family and friends. A committal ceremony and interment will be held on Monday, Jan. 30, at 3 p.m. EST at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, Ga.