Bruce Hadley Brown passed away Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, at his home. Born July 26, 1931, at Lafayette, to Parke and Mary (Sollars) Brown, he attended West Lafayette High School, where he attained the rank of Eagle Scout, and DePauw University, where he graduated with distinction with a degree in English. While at DePauw, he worked as a residence hall attendant and had a brief stint as a sports commentator for the college radio station. He was a member of the DePauw Cross Country team, for which he lettered.
After being drafted and serving in Panama for 18 months, he made use of the GI Bill to study at St. Andrews University in Scotland for a year before completing his master’s degree in English through the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
It was at St. Andrews that he met Evelyn Graham when he passed her a note in the hallway. While at St. Andrews, Bruce took the opportunity to explore the countryside by biking across England, Scotland and Ireland. He visited historical sites such as Stonehenge, Hadrian’s Wall and Culloden, and he managed to bike from John O’Groats in the north to Dover in the south, a distance of more than 750 miles. He later biked with Evelyn through Belgium and the Netherlands.
Bruce liked to travel in his youth, and he found creative ways to get across the country. After getting an invitation to work for the Forestry Service one summer, he hitchhiked to Colorado. He later traveled to Alaska and hitchhiked across Alaska because he was interested in seeing what was up there. He chronicled his life in journals, a practice he continued to do until his passing. Bruce was interested in history and in people in general. He could strike up a conversation with anyone; he would say that he liked to get to know about a person’s life and family.
Bruce and Evelyn were married at St. Margaret’s Church in Forfar, Scotland on Sept. 22, 1962. After splitting time between Indiana and Scotland in the first years of their marriage, in 1970 they settled into their home near Tangier where they would go on to raise five children. They named their farm Strathmore Farms as a nod to the area in Scotland that was home to Evelyn’s family.
Bruce was a teacher in both Scotland and Indiana, teaching at Inverkeilor and Kirriemuir, Scotland. He later taught at Jackson Township High School in Decatur County; Covington; Madison; and North Vermillion, where he retired after 36 years during which he could be seen at every school event taking pictures as part of his position as yearbook advisor. After retirement, Bruce continued his writing, serving as Tangier correspondent for the Parke County Sentinel for 29 years. In 2012, he completed work on his project to compile a history of Liberty Township veterans, ranging from the Revolutionary War to those who served in Afghanistan. This reference book is in the Rockville Public Library, a location where he frequently could be found. He was a member of Tangier Friends Church; Parke/Vermillion Retired Teachers Association; National Education Association; and Western Yearly Meeting.
Bruce is survived by his children, Andrew (Lori) Brown of Tangier, Alyson (Matt) Brown Navarro of Jersey City, New Jersey, Mary Brown Moore of Clayton, Robert (Sabrina) Brown of Rockville and Graham (Susan) Brown of Carmel. He is also survived by sister Mary Woods of Tangier; grandchildren, Elise (Jeff) Koning, Colin (Bethany) Brown, Ashley (Troy Telford) Vandivier, Gavin Brown, Ian Brown, Kaden Brown, Noah Navarro, Maya Navarro, Hadley Moore and Griffin Brown; great-grandchildren, Aiden Vandivier, Theodore Telford and Gatlin Telford; and many other beloved nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by wife Evelyn; parents Parke and Mary Brown; sister Patricia Ann; brother Parke Miles; brother-in-law Richard Woods; and son-in-law Jim Moore.
Visitation will be 5-7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24 at Barnes and Rice Funeral Home, Rockville. Services will be at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25 at the Tangier Friends Church in Tangier. Burial will follow at Tangier Cemetery.
Contributions can be made to Tangier Friends Church, ATTN: Neal McVay, 3663 W. C.R. 1050N, Tangier, IN 47952; or the Tangier Cemetery Fund, 3493 W. C.R. 1050N, Tangier, IN 47952.
