Anthony Jay Brown

Anthony Jay Brown, Maryville, Mo, born Sept. 17, 1955, in Trenton, Mo., died May, 28, 2022, of colon cancer after an extended fight against the disease lasting more than four years.

Mr. Brown, who worked as a reporter and editor at the Forum for about 10 years in the 2010s and 20-teens originally moved to Maryville in 2004, after which he served for several years as a media information specialist at Northwest Missouri State University.

He spent the balance of his 40-year career in various parts of the country – from California to St. Louis, Mo. – mostly working in public relations, higher education and journalism. In his capacity as a commercial writer, Mr. Brown produced publications and web content for Northwest Missouri State University, the University of Central Missouri, the Atascadero (Calif.) News, the Sedalia Democrat, the Missouri Department of Conservation, Northrop Corp. and other institutions in both the public and private sectors.

He was also an accomplished semi-professional musician who performed for more than 20 years in dance halls, concert venues and at various festivals, gatherings and charity events.

Mr. Brown experienced a classic “baby boomer” small-town childhood in Trenton, his hometown, where his father taught at the local junior college, and his mother worked as a homemaker.

He spent much time with his family visiting his brother, Thomas Alden Brown, at various state schools and group homes. “Tommy” Brown died in 2016 at age 64 after a life-long struggle with Down syndrome and a decades-long fight against Alzheimer’s disease.

“If there is anything good in me, it’s because of my brother,” Mr. Brown often remarked. “He taught me the value of unconditional love and the importance of compassion and what little gentleness I possess. Without him, I would have been just another small-town kid with a chip on his shoulder and nothing in his head or heart.”

An admittedly mediocre student who managed to make good grades without ever working very hard at it, Mr. Brown’s passions as a teen and young man revolved around music and Boy Scouting. An Eagle Scout, a Runner in the Tribe of Mic-O-Say and a member of the Order of the Arrow, he eventually joined the BSA’s summer camp staffs at Camp Geiger in St. Joseph and Camp Thunderbird near Moberly. At Thunderbird while in his 20s, Mr. Brown directed program for boys between the ages of 11 and 18 during summers off from college.

Away from his beloved camps, Mr. Brown’s personal life was rocky through his mid-40s, when, after a couple of divorces, he fell in love with and married Venus Uzynski, an old college friend from Truman State University in the 1970s and a native of St. Joseph. Mr. Brown died after nearly 20 years of marriage to his treasured Venus, a period he always called the happiest of his life.

Mr. Brown is survived by his wife, Venus L. U. Brown of the home; his mother, Sarah Brown, and her two siblings, Jim Alden of Gilman City and Shirley Kelley of Pickering; as well as several cousins. He was predeceased by his brother and his father, Thomas V. Brown, who died in 2018 at age 94.

The body has been cremated. memorial services will be at 11:00 AM, Saturday, June  25, 2022, at the First United Methodist Church, Maryville, MO.