Upton Lee Brown, Jr.

On Wednesday, August 26, 2020, an angel left this earth and went to heaven. Upton Lee Brown Jr lost his three-year battle with Stage IV COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). He would want everyone to know that he was not a smoker, he led a healthful and active life, and he loved his wife, daughters, sons-in-law and grandchildren more than life. Upton was born in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, on October 9, 1945 to Upton Lee Brown Sr and Esther Naomi Cool Brown. He lived his early life in Highfield, Maryland, attending St Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School and then Smithsburg High School. He worked a newspaper route in Highfield when he was a young man, in addition to a part-time job at Site R. He often shared a story that he was heartbroken to know of President JFK’s assassination before the media when working at Site R. Upton had three siblings, Charles Brown, Barbara Brown, and Donna Brown Scott, all of whom preceded him in death, in addition to his parents. Upton married Janet Rose Lee, from Bloomington, Maryland, on July 15, 1965, and they lived their earlyyears in Cascade, Maryland, with his daughters Rhonda Brown and Christina Brown. He worked many years as a laborer, then crane operator for Rouzerville Fabricating & Welding until it closed, then for a fire engine refinishing company, then for a crane operation in Frederick, Maryland. He liked to share stories about his crane operations erecting the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the Site C tower, many church steeples and bridge overpasses. During that time, his family relocated to Edgemont, Maryland. His retirement job returned him to his maternal Cool roots and his love of orchards, as he spent years working for Bill Gardenhour at Gardenhour Orchards, Smithsburg, Maryland, until the COPD forced him to retire permanently. He loved the orchard, the Gardenhours, and delivering apples and peaches to family and friends. Upton was a fierce Republican and spent his last night on earth watching the Republican National Convention and praising Melania Trump’s speech. He was looking very forward to voting and sadly received his mail-in voting ballot in the mail on the day of his death. He believed in working hard, making sure his daughters were educated and always respecting others. Amongst his proudest days were the births of grandchildren Grant Upton Reecher and Ava Katherine Reecher in Lewisburg, West Virginia. Upton is survived by his beloved wife of 55 years, Janet Lee Brown, Smithsburg, Maryland; his daughtersRhonda Brown Wolf, Williamsport, Maryland, and Christina Brown Reecher, Boca Grande, Florida; sons-in-law Michael Wolf and Jon Reecher; grandchildren Grant Reecher, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Ava Reecher, Winter Park, Florida, Michael “Rick” Wolf, Hagerstown, Maryland, Hayden Wolf Cunningham, Martinsburg, West Virginia, and Rebekah Wolf, Shepherdstown, West Virginia. A Mass of Christian Burial service will be held Monday, August 31, 2020 at 10:00am at J.L. Davis Funeral Home, Smithsburg, MD, with Rev. Peter DiTomasso officiating. The family will receive friends from 9-10am before the service. Burial will be in Smithsburg Cemetery in full view of Upton’s beloved Edgemont. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be provided to St Jude’s Children’s Hospital or the American Lung Association.