David Lee (Dave) Brown

David Lee (Dave) Brown returned to his heavenly home on September 21, 2023, with his wife by his side and in the prayers of his family and many friends.
He will be cremated and laid to rest in Oakwood Cemetery, Waco, Texas.

Visitation: 6-8pm on Thursday, September 28 at Lake Shore Funeral Home
Graveside Service: 12pm on Friday, September 29 at Oakwood Cemetery
Memorials may be made to Toys for Tots and the local animal shelters. 

Dave was born September 9, 1945, in Cortland, New York, to Kenneth Brown and Gilda Baker Brown. As an Air Force brat, he traveled the world with his family with assignments in Florida, Texas, Germany, Virginia, and Las Vegas, Nevada. While in Germany, he shot a hole in one as a junior golfer and played on a championship Little League team which qualified for the World Series. He attended European Grand Prix auto races with his dad where he developed his love for speed. He graduated in 1963 from Rancho High School in Las Vegas and lived for a short time in Alabama before moving to Houston, where he was drafted on D-Day, the 6th of June, 1969.

He landed in Vietnam on November 1,1969, and quickly earned both the nickname of Charlie Brown and the respect of others. He especially was known for modifying jeeps so they would go faster. Dave was a SP4 and a sniper and received numerous citations including National Defense Service medal, Vietnam Service medal with bronze service star, Combat Infantryman badge, Vietnam Campaign medal, Army Commendation medal with two oak leaf clusters, Good Conduct medal, and finally, a Purple Heart. His service in Vietnam forever changed his life.

After his honorable discharge, he worked in Las Vegas in the hotel industry while attending college classes, caring for his children as a single dad, and racing motocross on the weekends. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Hotel Administration from the University of Las Vegas, Nevada, in December, 1981, and continued to work in the hotel industry until his retirement.

In a magical twist of fate, he met his wife Debra on a blind date in a bar on New Year’s Eve in 1982 while visiting his sister in Houston. Within a few weeks, he had packed his belongings and moved to Houston to be with her. Together, they lived in Houston, Long Beach, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada, while Dave pursued his career as a hotel manager.  They were married on June 21, 1985, in a Las Vegas wedding chapel and were rarely apart for more than a few days in their 38 years of marriage. They returned home to Texas in 1989 after the birth of their daughter Kerstin and have made their home in China Spring for the last 25 years.

Dave is preceded in death by his daughter, Brandi Lynn Brown; and his beloved sister, Dona Kay Black.

He is survived by his devoted wife, Debra; his daughter, Kerstin McCall and her husband Scott Lyon and their children Penelope Rose and Zander Thomas Lyon; his daughter, Adrienne Nicole and her husband Randall Patton and her children Kieran Elizabeth and Logan Kieth Holt; and four other grandchildren.

Dave was a loving son, the best big brother, a generous friend, a patriot warrior, and a devoted family man. We will remember his moral code, his kindness and his compassion, his sense of humor, his need for speed, his love of the classics, and his “Daveisms”: “If you want to dance, you gotta pay the fiddler.”