A celebration of life honoring the legacy of Richard L. Brown will be held at The Barn at Old Frasier Farm, 4545 Marion Road, Newark, beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday, July 5, 2025.
Dick, 89, longtime resident of Thornville, passed away on Monday, February 24, 2025. He was born to the late Homer and Louella (Kavaall) on October 17, 1935, in Lanesboro, Minn., his hometown that always held a special place in his heart.
A United States Airforce Veteran, Dick was a 1953 graduate of Lanesboro High School and earned his B.S. in Education from The Ohio State University in 1965.
Dick began his professional career working at Monroe Machines prior to becoming a route manager and distributor with The Columbus Dispatch and Citizens Journal newspapers, which led to his relocation to Newark. Dick then became owner and operator of Newark Tree Service and Newark Ambulance Service. In 1969, Dick purchased Hines Distributing creating Brown Distributing Company which he owned and operated for 54 years, acquiring 11 different distributors during his time as CEO.
To say Dick liked adventure would be an understatement at best. As a world traveler, Dick had visited all Seven Wonders of the World and every continent except for Antarctica. His bigger than life personality found him on many ski slopes, golf courses, scuba adventures, navigating boats, flying planes and enjoying many drives in his beloved Porsche. He was a longtime member of Moundbuilders Country Club and the Newark Elks Lodge. When relaxing, Dick enjoyed drinking a bottle of Coors Light, and sharing a “dirty joke” or two with those around him.
Dick never forgot his humble beginning and established Friends of Friends which he used to finance the college tuition for nearly 40 students over the years. He supported many local charities and causes within the community that he was proud to have served and been a part of.
He will be greatly missed by his wife of 50 years, Brenda (Scaffide) Brown; sons Shawn Brown and Mark (Maura) Urban, four grandchildren: Nathan Brown and Michelle (Matthew) Brown, and their mother, Tamara Brown; Alex Urban and Ethan Urban; two great-grandchildren, Myles and Montana Brown; sister-in-law Shirley Brown, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law Sandy Harlow (Doug Eckel), Carol Donnett, Charlie Scaffide, Paul Scaffide, Rita (Ron) Pastorius, Gary (Joyce) Scaffide, Annette (Joe) Hans and Leslie Scaffide; many nieces and nephews; and his beloved canine companions Daisy and Dixie.
In addition to his parents, Dick was preceded in death by his brothers Jack, Jerry, and Thomas Brown and sister Connie Rehm; brothers-in-law Bill Donnett and Jake Harlow, stepfather Ray Clark, stepmother Helen Brown, and father-in-law and mother-in-law Charles and Meriam Scaffide.
Dick will be laid to rest with a private family inurnment and military honors held at St. Joseph Cemetery, Newark.
Memorials in Dick’s name can be made to the Licking County Humane Society, 825 Thornwood Drive, Heath, Ohio 43056; Hospice of Central Ohio, 2269 Cherry Valley Road, Newark, Ohio 43055. A scholarship to benefit Lanesboro High School is being established in Dick’s memory, these details will be available at the celebration of life. To share your memory of Dick or leave a condolence for the family, please visit www.reedegan.com.