Phillip S. Brown, 88, longtime resident of Fairway, Kansas, died on Nov. 27 at Village Shalom, surrounded by his loved ones.
Phil was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 6, 1936, to Louis and Evelyn Brown. He attended J.C. Nichols Elementary and was a proud graduate of Southwest High School, Class of 1954. Phil attended Washington University in St. Louis his freshman year, earning varsity letters in track and cross-country, then transferred to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he earned a B.S. in English literature. Phil continued his professional education, earning a law degree from the University of Michigan and later completing the management development program at Harvard Business School.
While at Wisconsin, Phil joined the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. It was at the ZBT house that Phil first met his future bride, Peedee (Roseroot) Brown. The two were married on July 19, 1959, and spent many happy years raising their family, traveling the world and enjoying their grandchildren.
Service was important to Phil. He served in the U.S. Army as a 2nd Lieutenant during the Cold War and was honorably discharged after reaching the rank of Captain in the Army Reserves. He volunteered his time for a number of civic organizations, including serving as the director and president of the Grassland Heritage Foundation, board member for the Jewish Community Relations Bureau, director and chairman of Swope Parkway Health Center and member of the University of Wisconsin Board of Visitors.
Phil began his legal career as an associate at the Tucker Murphy law firm in 1961 and moved on to serve as the assistant prosecuting attorney for Jackson County in 1967. He went to work for Kansas City Southern Railroad in 1968, where he worked in the legal department before advancing to associate secretary, associate general counsel and vice president at Kansas City Southern Industries. During his tenure with KCS, Phil was involved with litigation over the transmission of coal through a slurry pipeline, the expansion of KCS rail lines into Mexico, and the diversification of Kansas City Southern Industries into areas of financial management (the Janus Group), financial data systems (DST Systems) and animal health (MidCon Labs).
Phil was preceded in death by his parents, Louis Brown and Evelyn (Strauss) Brown; his sister, Leah Brown; his brother, Meyer (Mickey) Brown; and his loving wife of 55 years, Peedee. He leaves behind his three children, David Brown (Diana), Melissa Rooker (Tom), and Mike Brown (Trish); as well as his six grandchildren, Lindsay (Ted Richardson), Alex, Jack (Kristen), Kate, Megan and Molly; and his great-grandson, Malcolm.
A private interment was held on Nov. 29 at Rose Hill Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. on Dec. 19 at Congregation Beth Torah (6100 W. 127th St., Leawood, KS 66209).
If you wish to honor Phil, the family suggests donations be made to: Village Shalom – Ages of Excellence Fund (villageshalom.org/donate/memorialsandtributes) or KC Hospice (kchospice.org/donate).
