Mr. Melvin Ray Brown

PLEASE WEAR MASKS AT ALL TIMES

Service will be  1 p.m., Saturday, September 26, 2020 at New Bethel MBC.  Interment will be Monday, September 28, 2020 at Northwest La. Veteran Cemetery.  Open visitation will be Friday at Heavenly Gates 12 to 4 pm.

Melvin Ray Brown was born on January 4, 1959 in Shreveport, Louisiana.  He passed away on September 14, 2020.  He was the sixth child of ten to the marriage of Sylvester and Gladys Brown.  He was preceded in death by both parents and two siblings, Sylvestor Brown Jr. and Calvin Ray Brown.

As a growing boy, he attended Eighty-First Street Elementary School and Eden Garden Junior High in Shreveport.  His days in high school were spent at Captain Shreve High School and he graduated in 1977.  As a young man, Mel began college at Southern University at Shreveport/Bossier.  Immediately after 2 years of college, he joined the US Marines Corp where he served 4 years and received an honorable discharge.   

                Corporal Mel served as a Field Radio Operator and received a number of accolades - Marksmanship, Sea Service, Meritorious Mast, Good Conduct, and Certificate of Appreciation.  Immediately following his act of service, he resumed education at a private christian college named Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California.  He graduated from that university with a Bachelor’s Degree in the major of Psychology.  In 1996, he met the love of his life Tonia Yvette Felton and married her two years later on October 17, 1998.  Their union lasted for nearly 22 years before his departure.  Mel fathered Felicia P. Jackson, Jeremiah L. Brown, and Nehemiah R. Brown.  Ja’siah E. Jackson and Amia H. Jackson were his grandchildren.  

                Many knew him as a runner, an attribute he possessed since his childhood days.  Sprinting to and from the store to buy food, chasing after roadrunners in the desert, and competing in a multitude of track races were some of his great joys.  Others saw him as a comedian, always inducing laughter within those around him.  Never was there a dull moment in his presence - silly dancing, funny expressions, and amusing remarks.  Everyone knew him for his smile, sweet and never-ending.  His smile was very infectious and sure to brighten anyone’s day.

Surely, he was a great man of God.  Mighty was he in the Lord, steadfast in the faith and unwavered in spite of any circumstance.  Never was he seen grumpy or gloomy.  There wasn’t a speck of fear found in him, but instead a heart full of joy.  His heart was filled with much thanksgiving, not taking anyone or anything for granted.  The love of Jesus was endlessly shining through him.  It is by the grace of God that he portrayed such a character - “If not for the grace of God, there go I” (quoted often by Mel).

                Melvin was beloved and will be missed by his family and friends, but certainly never forgotten.  Such a great example of faith did he leave in our memories.  A joyous man he was, and likewise we ought to be the same way.  His life lived on earth assures us of where he is now, and in time, we will be reunited with him and in the presence of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

- Siblings (7): Alma Hawkins (William), Patrcia Thomas (Ronnie), Marie Younger, Carolyn Morris, Cynthia

                        Phills, Glenda Faye Brown, Leonard Ray Brown Sr. (Cheryl)

- Children (3): Felicia P. Jackson, Jeremiah L. Brown, Nehemiah R. Brown

- Grand Children (2): Ja’siah E. Jackson and Amia H. Jackson

- Nieces (6): Alexis Phills, Princess Brown, Kimberly Montague, Marcia Smith, Tiffany Brown, Ronnetra Green

- Nephews (7): Mecco Brown, Sylvestor Brown III, Nathaniel Brown, Princeton Williams, Arthur Triplett,

                          Leonard Ray Brown II, Brandon Brown

- Great Niece (1): Amaria Oliver

- Host of Many: Relatives & Friends

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