Joseph Allen Brown, age 93, Lancaster, died Thursday, May 7, 2020, at Brethren Village.

His wife, Joan A. Brown, died on Sunday, May 3, 2020 with Joe at her side. They would have celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary in June.

Joe's mother-in-law often said he looked like Jimmy Stewart. Unlike George Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life, however, Joe understood his life's good fortune and the positive impact he had on his family and friends.

Joe said there were three pivotal moments that established the foundation for the rest of his life. First, he was broke when he was discharged from the Navy in 1946, but thanks to the GI Bill he was able to obtain his college and law degrees. He championed this federal legislation for the rest of his life for the opportunities it provided him. Second, in 1948 he met Joan Auchter at a wedding and immediately knew he had met his future wife. They were a supportive and loving team for over 70 years. As he wrote on the eve of their 40th wedding anniversary, once he met Joan "the road was great and the wind was always at my back." Third, in 1955 he joined New Holland Machine Company as a patent attorney, which had the dual benefit of providing him with a rewarding career and brought his growing family to Lancaster, an area they loved and were proud to call home.

Family was most important to Joe. He was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. Known as Pop Pop to his fifteen grandchildren, he is remembered for giving out countless ice cream cones, pretzels and frozen Peppermint Patties to his "bunnies." He liked dogs, babies, doing yard work, playing bridge, and traveling. A long-time member of the Lancaster Country Club, Joe served on its board for six years and played golf well into his 80's.

Thanks to his good-natured personality and sense of humor, Joe had charm and wit and loved telling stories, often at his own expense. In a trait he credited to his father, he treated everyone the same regardless of their status in life and made sure his kids did the same. He was a role model for how we should all live our lives.

Joe is survived by seven children: Margaret J. Kay, married to Jeffrey (Lititz); Jeanne B. McCreary, married to Robert (Landisville); Joseph A. Brown, Jr., married to Linda Krebs (Issaquah, WA); Theresa M. Brown (Lancaster); Timothy P. Brown, married to Louise Huntley (Lancaster); Michael J. Brown, married to Julie Leedy (Havertown, PA); and Richard J. Brown, married to Jennifer Duncan (West Chester, PA); 15 grandchildren: Meghan and Jennifer Kay; Sean, Ryan and Thomas McCreary; Gwen Brown; Alston, Carson and Elizabeth Brown; Drew and Paige Gingrich, Abigail and Nina Brown; and James and Olivia Brown; and six great-grandchildren: Elener, Wesley, Natalie, Frances, Cameron and Jackson McCreary. Joe had a sister, Ann R. Spellman (Worcester, MA), and a brother, William J. Brown (Shrewsbury, MA), both deceased.

Born in Massachusetts, the son of Joseph and Anna Moynihan Brown, Joe graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in Worcester in 1943 and served from 1943 to 1946 in the U.S. Navy in World War II. He graduated from Franklin & Marshall College in 1948 and Georgetown University Law School in 1951. He was admitted to the bars of DC and PA.

In 1988, he retired as Vice-President and General Counsel of Sperry New Holland and its 1986 successor, Ford New Holland. He was with the company for 33 years. He then joined the Lancaster law firm of Hartman, Underhill & Brubaker as Of Counsel from 1988 to 1998.

Joe's specialty was patent and trademark law, having been admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent Office in 1954. At New Holland, he solicited most of the fifty-five patents granted to E.B.Nolt, the inventor of the first one-person automatic hay baler. It was the baler that propelled New Holland to becoming a worldwide manufacturer of farm equipment.

Joe was active in many civic and charitable organizations. He started and for five years chaired the committee that built St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Manheim Township, which was dedicated as a parish in the Harrisburg diocese in 1978. He served on the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors for two years, was a member of its highways and transportation committee for twelve years, and its chairman for eight years. Joe was a divisional chairman of the United Way; a member of the operations committee of Harb-Adult; and, for six years a member of the board of St. Anne's Retirement Community in Columbia.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. John Neumann at a later date. Interment will be in St. Joseph's New Catholic Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made in Joe's memory to Hospice & Community Care , P.O. Box 4125, Lancaster, PA 17604-4125.