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Edmund Graves Brown

Edmund Graves Brown, Jr. (March 28, 1921 – May 11, 2008) was an American newspaper executive and a prominent member of the Ewing newspaper family of Louisiana. In 1952, after the deaths of two Ewing brothers, John D. Ewing and Wilson Ewing, Brown joined the management of the then family-owned Monroe News Star in Monroe, the seat of Ouachita Parish in northeastern Louisiana. He remained with the News Star as an assistant general manager until 1977, when it was sold, along with the sister publication, the former Morning World, to the Gannett Company of Arlington, Virginia.Brown was born in New Orleans to Edmund "Ted" Brown, Sr., originally of Newburyport, Massachusetts, and the former Esther Ewing. His brothers, who predeceased him, were Robert Ewing Brown and Toulmin Hunter Brown, both of Pass Christian, Mississippi, near New Orleans. He graduated from Alcee Fortier High School in New Orleans and the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. He was commissioned in the United States Army and served with the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge, witnessed the close of the war at Ludwigslust on the Elbe River, and served in Germany during Allied occupation. After the war, he continued his studies at Tulane University in New Orleans before he launched his newspaper career at the New Orleans Times Picayune. At Tulane, he met and married (1948) the former Bethia "Bitza" McCay, who survived him.Brown was an active sportsman in fishing, golf and snow skiing, and was involved in genealogy and gardening. He was affiliated with the First Presbyterian Church of Monroe, Bayou Desiard Country Club, the Monroe Little Theater, and the Boston and Louisiana Clubs of New Orleans.In addition to his wife, he was survived by four children, Edmund Brown III of Houston, James Ewing Brown of Lafayette, Bethia Brown Bundrick of Shreveport, and Donelson Taylor Brown of Monroe, as well as ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Two sons predeceased him: Leander Moore Brown and Percy McCay ("Mac") Brown.A memorial service was held three days after his death at the First Presbyterian Church of Monroe, where Brown was an active member.Brown was the third veteran Louisiana newspaperman to have died in a two-month period. Joe D. Smith, Jr. and Cecil Williams, both formerly with Alexandria Daily Town Talk, died on March 20 and April 30, respectively.