Les Brown

Brown, Les (Leslie) Dean 72, Tampa, Florida, USA Les Brown passed away on Thursday, June 14, 2018, at Moffitt Cancer Center, in Tampa, Florida, with family by his side. He courageously battled prostate cancer for many years and was an inspiration to family and friends. Les was born on February 22, 1946, in Watertown, New York, the son of T. Dean Brown and Norma Jean Otis. He was raised in Watertown and graduated from Watertown High School in 1964. Les attended Paul Smith’s College, in Paul Smiths, New York, before transferring to Stephen F. Austin State University, in Nacogdoches, Texas, graduating in May of 1969 with a Bachelor of Forestry degree. In December of 1995, Les earned a Master of Science in Education degree with an emphasis in Sports Management from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. After graduating from Stephen F. Austin State University, Les enlisted in the Army in July of 1969, as an Artillery Surveyor. His first tour of duty was with the 25th Infantry Division in the Republic of Vietnam. During his tour in Vietnam he was awarded a battlefield commission and in November of 1970, Les was commissioned in the Field Artillery as a Second Lieutenant. Les served his country around the world; from Ft. Carson, Colorado, to Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, to Augsburg, Germany, and to Ft. Knox, Kentucky. In 1984, Les was selected to attend The Command and General Staff College located in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, and was declared a graduate of the Command and General Staff Officer Course in June of 1985. Les’s next assignment was teaching British Gunnery to British soldiers at the Royal School of Artillery, in Larkhill, England. His next tour of duty was in Hanau, Germany, and his final assignment was in Ottawa, Canada, as the U.S. Military Liaison to the Canadian Forces. After 23 years of service, Les retired from the Army in September of 1992, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After his retirement from the Army, Les and his family moved to Lawrence, Kansas. For a few years he worked for a defense contractor in Leavenworth, Kansas, before returning to college to earn a graduate degree at the University of Kansas (Go Jayhawks!). While at KU, he became a fierce fan of their men’s basketball team, the Jayhawks, as well as discovering his love for golf tournament operations and the R&A/USGA Rules of Golf. While in graduate school, Les ran golf tournaments for Alvamar Golf Club. After completing graduate school, he went to work for the Kansas State Golf Association where he honed his tournament operations skills and his knowledge of the Rules of Golf. In 1999 Les accepted a position as a tournament director with the Florida State Golf Association (FSGA). During his time at the FSGA, he was instrumental in developing and running the Florida Junior Tour (FJT). After retiring from the FSGA in 2007, Les was a consultant to the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA), Hurricane Junior Golf Tour and IMG Junior Golf Tour, where he mentored and trained new tournament directors in the art of tournament operations as well as acting as a USGA Rules Official. Until retiring in 2017, Les handled golf tournament operations and/or rules officiating for several collegiate golf tournaments across the United States, collegiate conference golf championships, the NCAA Division II Men’s Regional and National Golf Championships, and the NCAA Division I Women’s National Golf Championship. Les was a member of the United States Golf Association (USGA) since 1991 and served as a USGA Committee Member for the USGA U.S. Junior Amateur Championship from 2005-2018. Annually or biennially, Les attended a PGA/USGA Rules of Golf Workshop. He loved studying, interpreting and discussing the Rules of Golf and Decisions on the Rules of Golf. Les served as the Chairman for the Hunter’s Green Country Club Golf and Greens Committee from 2015-2018. Les’s love for sports started at a very young age. In high school, he played basketball, baseball, lacrosse and soccer. He continued to play basketball at Paul Smith’s College. While serving in the Army sports played an important part in Les’s mentoring process, from playing pickup basketball with his battery troops to forming and coaching a fast pitch softball team that twice won the USAREUR (United States Army Europe) Championship. When Les was stationed in the U.S., he officiated high school basketball and football. During his overseas tours, Les officiated in the English and German professional basketball leagues as well as officiating USAREUR fast and slow pitch softball, basketball, boxing, and track and field at the community and championship levels. Les discovered the game of golf while stationed in England and developed a true passion for the game. Golf would become a second career for him and a new avenue for mentoring and developing junior golfers and young adults involved in the game of golf. He loved sharing his knowledge of golf with juniors, young adults and his peers. Even after retiring, Les continued to study the Rules of Golf and served as a resource for golf rulings or tournament operations questions. Les took great pleasure in following the careers of the junior and collegiate golfers, tournament directors, coaches and others in the golf industry who had been part of his career in golf. In 1979 Les met his wife, Judy, in Augsburg, Germany. They were married on September 14, 1983, in Louisville, Kentucky. They shared a love for travel, sports and their dogs. Les is survived by his wife of 34 years, Judy Dahlberg-Brown, his sister, Lori D. Brown of Camarillo, California, and his beloved Keeshonds, Kleo and Honnee. He is predeceased by his father T. Dean, mother Norma, and brother, Larry D. Brown. The family wishes to extend their deepest thanks to Julie Kish, MD, FACP, and her team in Senior Adult Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center; Michael Poch, MD, and his team in Genitourinary Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center; Michael Fradley, MD, and his teams in Cardiology at USF Heath and Moffitt Cancer Center; Jessica Bay, ARNP, and Crystal Erhardt, PA-C, with Moffitt Cancer Center; the nurses, doctors and other medical providers in the DRC at Moffitt Cancer Center; and the ICU team at Moffitt Cancer Center, especially Les’s nurse, Erin, who cared for him through the night and morning before his passing. Judy would also like to thank Les’s cousin, John Otis, for taking Les to some of his treatment appointments and to their niece, Elspeth Foran, for helping out where and when needed. A Celebration of Les’s Life will be held on Wednesday, June 27, 2018, at Hunter’s Green Country Club, 18101 Longwater Run Drive, Tampa, Florida 33647, Phone: 813-973-1000. There will be a visitation 5:30-6:30 pm and Military Honors and Celebration starting at 6:30 pm, followed by a reception. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to: Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation. Donations can be made by mailing a check (on memo line please note: In Memory of Les Brown) to: Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation, MBC-FOUND, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL 33612; online at Moffitt.org/Donate; or by calling 1-800-456-3434 ext. 1403. OR Frankie’s Friends, A Charitable Pet Foundation. Donations can be made by mailing a check ((on memo line please note: In Memory of Les Brown, Florida Region) to: Frankie’s Friends, 2950 Busch Lake Blvd, Tampa, FL, 33614, by calling 1-888-465-7387, or online at www.FrankiesFriends.org . For online donations: Click on the DONATE button and select Donate to Give in Memory of a Special Pet or Person or select Paws for a Cause to donate to Frankie’s Friends’ fundraising challenge to help pets in need.