Alva Willis Brown Sr.
November 17, 1934 - March 31, 2026
ALVA WILLIS BROWN SR. WAS BORN ON NOVEMBER 17, 1934, TO JOSEPHINE BROWN AND ALVA WILLIS SHAW IN MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA. HE WOULD BE THEIR ONLY CHILD. HE GREW UP WITH HIS YOUNGER BROTHER GUS BROWN AND WOULD EVENTUALLY MEET HIS OTHER SIBLINGS KENNETH AND WANDA SHAW DECADES LATER. DURING HIS EARLY YEARS, ALVA WAS RAISED BY HIS GRANDMOTHER, FLORENCE COBB, WHOM HE AFFECTIONATELY CALLED "MOAN." MOAN HAD ALVA READING SCRIPTURES TO HER FROM THE BIBLE BY THE TIME HE TURNED FOUR YEARS OLD.
GROWING UP IN RURAL OKLAHOMA, ALVA’S FAMILY WORKED AS SHARECROPPERS. BECAUSE HE WAS SMALL IN STATURE AND NOT AS FAST AT PICKING COTTON, HE WAS ALLOWED TO STAY BACK IN THE HOUSE. WITH SO MUCH TIME ON HIS HANDS, HE HAPPILY LIKED TO REMIND PEOPLE THAT HE HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO STEAL THE NEIGHBOR'S DOG USING DONUTS AS BRIBERY. KNOWN FOR HIS BEAUTIFUL, SILKY STRAIGHT HAIR AND SMOOTH, RUDDY INDIAN COMPLEXION, HE EARNED THE NICKNAME "SWEET THANG."
AT THE AGE OF SIXTEEN, ALVA LEFT OKLAHOMA WHEN HIS UNCLE, ROOSEVELT COBB, SENT FOR HIM TO COME TO CALIFORNIA. WITH JUST $16 TO HIS NAME, HE MADE THE TREK TO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, WHERE HE WOULD PUT DOWN ROOTS FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE. HE WORKED MANY JOBS BUT ULTIMATELY, BUILT A CAREER AS A LONGSHOREMAN, WORKING THE DOCKS FOR MANY YEARS UNTIL HIS RETIREMENT.
IN JUNE 1955, HE MARRIED HIS FIRST WIFE, CARRIE BELL BROWN (GUMS). TOGETHER, THEY HAD SEVEN BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN AND RAISED THEIR LARGE FAMILY ON THE EAST SIDE OF OAKLAND FOR MANY YEARS. HE WOULD LATER REMARRY AFTER MEETING HIS SECOND WIFE, PARIS ELAINE LONG, AND RELOCATE TO STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA.
UNFORTUNATELY, CIRCUMSTANCES NECESSITATED THAT HE WOULD HAVE TO DROP OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL DUE TO FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES. HOWEVER, ALVA POSSESSED A BRILLIANT MIND AND A KNACK FOR WORKING WITH HIS HANDS. HE LEARNED AND EXECUTED VARIOUS TRADES, INCLUDING CARPENTRY, PLUMBING, INSTALLING SATELLITE DISHES, AND REPAIRING TELEVISIONS, CARS, AND COMPUTERS. HE ALWAYS CREDITED GOD WITH GIFTING HIM WITH THESE NATURAL ABILITIES.
ALWAYS THE LIFE OF THE PARTY, ALVA LOVED SHARING THE WORDS OF WISDOM HE HAD LEARNED FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER AND UNCLE. HE WOULD EVENTUALLY DEVELOP HIS OWN TRADEMARK PHRASES. ON ANY GIVEN DAY, IF YOU CALLED TO ASK HOW HE WAS DOING, HE’D CHEERFULLY REPLY, “BOY, I’LL TELL YA, IF I HAD ANOTHER DOLLAR, I’D BE ALRIGHT.” AND ALWAYS READY TO HELP ANYONE IN NEED, HE WOULD OFTEN SAY, “IF YOU NEED ANY HELP, DON’T FROWN, CALL BROWN.”
ABOVE ALL, ALVA HAD A PROFOUND LOVE FOR GOD THAT HE SHARED WITH EVERYONE. ONE OF HIS FAVORITE HOBBIES WAS LEADING BIBLE STUDIES. HE WOULD METICULOUSLY RESEARCH SCRIPTURES, CREATE PROJECTOR SLIDES, DELIVER PRESENTATIONS, AND EVEN PREACH THE OCCASIONAL SERMON. ALVA ALWAYS MAINTAINED THAT HIS GREATEST JOY WAS HELPING AND SERVING OTHERS, BUT MOST OF ALL, HE LOVED SERVING THE LORD.
HE LOVED HIS FAMILY IMMENSELY AND MADE IT A PRIORITY TO KEEP IN TOUCH WITH HIS CHILDREN ON A REGULAR BASIS. IN HIS LATER YEARS, ALVA BECAME A DOTING GRANDFATHER WHO LOVED TO SPOIL HIS GRANDCHILDREN. HE SPENT HIS SUMMERS MAKING CHERISHED MEMORIES WITH THEM, “SHOOTIN’ DUCKS” , WATCHING WWE, AND SWIMMING IN THE POOL HE BUILT HIMSELF IN HIS BACKYARD. HE WOULD SNEAK THEM CANDY, AND WITH HIS GREAT LOVE OF FOOD, ON ANY GIVEN DAY YOU COULD FIND THEM ALL ENJOYING A MEAL TOGETHER AT HOMETOWN BUFFET, AND EVENTUALLY, SIZZLER.
GOD BLESSED ALVA TO SEE 91 YEARS OF LIFE, AND HE REMAINED STRONG-WILLED UNTIL THE VERY END. HE WILL BE SORELY MISSED, AND ALTHOUGH HE IS GONE, HE WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN. THERE ARE SIMPLY TOO MANY STORIES TO TELL, AND TOO MANY LAUGHS SHARED TO EVER FORGET THE LIGHT HE BROUGHT TO THIS WORLD.
HE WAS PRECEDED IN DEATH BY HIS PARENTS, JOSEPHINE BROWN AND ALVA WILLIS SHAW; THE MOTHER OF HIS CHILDREN, CARRIE BELL BROWN; HIS BROTHERS, GUS BROWN AND KENNETH SHAW; HIS SON ALVA WILLIS BROWN AND SON-IN- LAW LUERAY GUSTIN JR. HE IS SURVIVED BY HIS WIFE OF 41 YEARS, PARIS ELAINE BROWN, TIA PRESTON NORTH (DEJUAN); RANDY PRESTON (JESSICA); HIS CHILDREN, MONA LISA RUFF; ALLEN BROWN, ALEX BROWN(YOLANDA), SABRINA GUSTIN, APRIL IRVIN (GARY), GRACE JOHNSON (EPHRIAM), HIS SISTER WANDA, SEVERAL GRANDCHILDREN AND GREAT GRANDCHILDREN AS WELL AS A HOST OF RELATIVES AND FRIENDS.
Cherokee Memorial is honored to serve the Brown family.
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