We have lost a true man among men. Maj. Ralph Andrew Brown, USAF (Ret.), 99, of Columbia, died Monday, May 9, 2016. Born November 16, 1916 in Lincolnton, NC, he was a son of the late George Brown, Sr., and Olive Senter Brown. The 4th of twelve children, Ralph joined the Army Air Corps in 1942 to become a fighter pilot and flew missions over Nazi Germany. On April 11, 1944, while on a long range bombing mission, his P-51 Mustang was shot down. Ralph was captured and spent 13 months in a German prison camp. After the war Ralph continued as a fighter pilot in the Air Force until he retired in 1965 when he moved to Columbia. In Columbia, he worked as a charter pilot and flew for Midlands Aviation, Eagle Aviation and commercial realtor, Joe Edens, until he was in his 70's. Ralph still has his NASCAR license and drove stock cars until he was 90 years young. After his aviation career ended, he went to work for his son at Brown Motor Works until he was 96. Ralph remained proud of his military service and had recently been attending luncheons with other WWII POWs. He was a man of deep faith and was a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.
Survivors include his children, Elizabeth Goldstein (Robert) of Charleston, SC, Barbara Whittington (Bill) of Hickory, NC, Andrea Cooper (Dexter) of Columbia, R.A. Brown, II (Donna) of Chapin; grandchildren, Danielle Goldstein, Shelley Hochman, Sarah Barlow, Teen Dixon, Marcia Rubino, Julie Burge, Allison Stafford, Melissa Hallman, Daniel Hallman and Petra Hallman; sisters, Nell Coon, Hazel Beam, Helen Sides, Evelyn Thomas, Doris Reynolds; as well as numerous great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Elizabeth Christine Grayson Brown; son Harold "Butch" Hallman; as well as four brothers and two sisters.
A funeral service for Maj. Brown will be held at 2 o'clock, Friday, May 13th, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, with Pastor Paul Wollner and Pastor Kris Litman-Koon officiating. Burial, with full military honors, will follow in Greenlawn Memorial Park. The family will receive friends from 5 until 7 o'clock, Thursday evening at Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, 7600 Trenholm Road Ext., Columbia. Memorials may be made to Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 3909 Forest Drive, Columbia, SC 29204.