Homer Squires Brown, surrounded by his lovingly family, passed away on Saturday, December 16, 2017 at Oak Pointe Nursing Home in Baltic after a battle with Parkinson’s and dementia.
He was born in June 30, 1934 to the late Harry and Myrtle (Squires) Brown on the family farm in Orlando, West Virginia.
Homer’s passions included spending time with family, his faith, vegetable gardening and fishing in Canada. Homer attended Riffle Run one room school thru fourth grade. He then went to Burnsville to continue his education. At Burnsville High School he excelled in football, basketball and baseball. He was president of his sophomore class and had a lead part in the junior play. Also, he was named honorable mention all-conference in basketball his senior year in 1952.Homer took Vocational Agriculture and participated in FFA all four years in high school. His teacher Wilbur Dye made quite an impact on this young man. Thru these formative years he set his career goal to become a Vocational Agriculture teacher. He worked to pay his way and attended Glenville State College for two years. At that time you could teach elementary grades after two years of college in education. After completing two years of college, Homer taught grades 1 thru 8 at the Hires Run one room school for two years. He then enrolled at West Virginia University to complete his degree in Vocational Agriculture. Upon college graduation in December 1957, he took a teaching position at Ripley High School in West Virginia. Garaway Schools wanted to start a Vocational Agriculture program in 1962. Homer was hired and moved his family to Ohio. There he laid the foundation of excellence for the next 19 years of Vocational Agriculture education at Garaway Schools. He taught high school full time at Garaway Schools until 1966. When Brown was teaching high school Vocational Agriculture at Garaway, the FFA Chapter was very successful. He had three students earn the American Farmer Degree, and three students who were state FFA officers. In addition, one of his students won the state public speaking content, two were awarded regional proficiency awards, and several earned the state FFA degree including his son Eddie. Also, his 1981 Garaway FFA Parliamentary Procedure team won 1st place for the state of Ohio. Homer completed his masters at The Ohio State University in 1966. He then started the adult Vocational Agriculture program at Garaway Schools. This included teaching night courses in crop management, tax planning, welding, estate planning and Farm Business Planning and Analysis to name a few. The program enabled him to individually meet and help farmers make sound farm management decisions thru planning, budgeting, and financial management (income, expenses and taxes). The program expanded to over 75 farms (dairy, hog, turkey, and beef). In 1976 he returned to the high school class room ½ time and he continued ½ time in adult education. Homer was awarded the Honorary State FFA degree in the state of Ohio and the FFA Honorary American Farmer Degree. He continued in this capacity until 1981 when he took a full-time position as an adult vocational agriculture instructor specializing in farm business and planning analysis at the Buckeye Joint Vocational School. After retirement from teaching in 1994, he continued to work as a private consultant with over 100 farms in Tuscarawas, Holmes, Coshocton, Carroll, Guernsey and Franklin counties until 2000. Homer had been active member in the Sugarcreek United Methodist Church since 1962. He has served as Chairman of the Administrative Board, Chairmen of the Finance Committee, Chairman of Staff Parish and headed up the Swiss Festival committee numerous years for the church. Homer was a member of the following organizations: Masonic Lodge of New Philadelphia Lodge No. 0177 and He served as Worshipful Master while a member, New Philadelphia 222 Order of the Eastern Star, Tuscarawas County Chapter of the Ohio Retired Teachers, and Ohio Retired Teachers Association.
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Sara Margaret (McIntyre) Brown, his children Sandra (Richard) Honaker, Deborah (Harold) Ames and Eddie (Kimberly) Brown, grandchildren Justin Ames, Kyle Brown, Abigail (Honaker) Schroeder, Julie (Ames) Bump, Taylor Brown and Matthew Honaker, great grandchildren Jayden Ames, Jordyn Ames, Corrine Brown, Michael Brown, Sophia Bump, Jaycee Ames, Levi Brown and Lucy Bump, and his sister Lillian Stalnaker and Myrtle Mae Morris. In addition to his parents, Homer is preceded in death by his brothers Hugh, Earl, Solomon, Chester, Harry Junior and Curtis Brown, his sisters Annabelle (Brown) Linger, Lucille (Brown) Harper and Maxine Brown and his father-n-law and mother-in-law Darrell and Margaret McIntyre.
Family will receive friends on Wednesday, December 20, 2017 from 10-11 AM at the Stockert-Paletti Funeral Home, 378 Flatwoods Corner, Flatwoods, WV 26621 with graveside services to be held at 11:00 AM at the Little Kanawha Memorial Gardens. Words of comfort and fond memories can be shared with the family at stockert-paletti.com.
The family would like to thank the loving and compassionate staff at Oak Pointe for their care and support over the last 2 years. In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer donations to be given to either Sugarcreek United Methodist Church or The Brown Family Scholarship Fund (The Garaway Education Foundation).
Smith-Varns.

The Stockert-Paletti Funeral Home in Flatwoods, WV will be honored to the handle the arrangements of Home Squires Brown.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Homer Squires Brown, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.