“Our Dad liked anything new and trendy,” says Gerard G. Brown of his late father, Willie G. Brown, who unexpectedly passed away last month.
“He tried a lot of different things, and he could always put you on to something new, whether it was a new drink, a new place to eat, or a TV show. He just always knew what was the next best thing, and he loved to share it. He was tapped into what was going on. He didn’t live in a box. He had his routine, things that he would do, but he was very open to trying new things and being part of something new.”
“He loved to travel – just pick up and go on a whim,” says Gerard. “He would drive to Las Vegas or Stateline on the spur of the moment. He loved cruises to Mexico.”
His favorite thing? Well, that would be a cigar.
“He was an avid cigar aficionado,” says his son. “He collected cigars from wherever he went. One of his favorite things to do was just chill out in the backyard and smoke a cigar. That was his idea of a good time. And he would always let you know if he got his hands on some Cubans. So now, when I travel, I pick up cigars, too.”
The late Mr. Brown was an Investigator for the City of Los Angeles, working directly with the LAPD for 20 years. He began his career in loss prevention at the Pasadena Mall with Broadway Department Stores in the 1980s and 90s. He worked his way up through various companies, and then his career took off.
“He worked for the City of Los Angeles in the financial fraud department, making wrongs right,” says Gerard. “If people were owed money, he made sure they got their money. Although he never gave us specific information about his work, we knew he investigated scams, finances, fraud and things of that nature.”
Mr. Brown didn’t go to college, but he did take special classes and courses to further his investigative career, brush up on his skills, or get needed certifications pertaining to his line of work.
He always had a sense of justice in his work.
“He would call out things that were not right,” says Gerard. “He stood up for other people. It just came naturally to him. He was definitely a man of his word. If he said he was going to do something, he did it.”
Family and close friends would often ask for his advice, and if he sensed something was wrong, he would always make recommendations. He would tell them, “Hey, you might want to look into this because that doesn’t sound right.”
“His peers, his friends, my friends and relatives looked up to him as a strong male figure,” continues Gerard. “A lot of my cousins who didn’t have a father present in their lives or a real healthy male role model looked up to him. He was just that kind of man, and a lot of people gravitated towards him for that. He was a man of few words at times, but he definitely was an example to others, showing them his character through his actions.”
“Raiders, man. Raiders all Day.”
Mr. Brown was a huge Raiders fan, no matter what city they called home.
“I’m a Raiders fan because of him,” continues Gerard.
“He took me to my first game, and it was against the San Diego Chargers. We went to the Chargers stadium in San Diego. We had a great time, and it further instilled in me the love for football that we both shared. We both played football in high school, so to watch it on a professional level with him was great.”
The late Mr. Brown was born in Pasadena and attended elementary, secondary and high school there. He graduated from Blair High School, where he played freshman, junior, and varsity football.
He loved to take his sister to eat at Denny’s on Colorado Boulevard.
“And he loved the classic Margaritas at Amigos Restaurant on Colorado Boulevard,” says Gerard. “Everybody knows those margaritas. A group of us would go there and get a pitcher-full of Margaritas with him.”
Mr. Brown bought a house in Azusa 12 years ago, where he provided a home for his daughter and her children and his father, 89-year-old grandfather Willie G. Brown, who still attends Morning Star Christian Church in Pasadena.
The late Mr. Brown was a man of faith. He believed in God, and it showed in his everyday demeanor, especially in the ways he treated people.
“He was a guy of good, moral ethics. He was a walking testament to his faith rather than someone who would have been in church all the time,” says Gerard. “He was a ‘Golden Rule’ kind of man, but he could be a jokester, too, especially with family, friends and people he was close to. He knew how to be the life of the party, or he could also just be a fly on the wall.”
“My dad stood behind us for anything that we wanted to do. He encouraged me. He encouraged and supported all of us. He will be greatly missed in our family and the community.”
Willie G. Brown is interred at Rose Hills Memorial Park and Cemetery in Whittier. He is survived by his father, Willie A. Brown of Azusa; sisters Tammy Brown and Lori Brown of Pasadena, CA; his children, Gerard G. Brown of Richmond, CA; daughter LaKisa A. Brown of Azusa, CA; daughter Skylah Brown of Big Sur, CA; four grandchildren, Dillan, Ilaya, Imani and Kennedi; and countless cousins, nieces nephews and friends, who he loved dearly. He is preceded in death by his mother, Mae Catherine Brown, brother Jerry Pruitt and sister Margaret Pruitt Mays.
