Ex-mayor Brown Helped City Grow

Ann Arbor did a lot of growing up during the administrations of Mayor William E. Brown Jr. And Mr. Brown, who died yesterday afternoon at the age of 74, played a large role in that growth. Serving longer in the mayor's chair than anyone else in the city's history, Mr. Brown held the top elective office : from 1945 until he was upset by Demo crat Samuel Eldersveld in 1957. 't When Mr. Brown took office the city f was only slightly larger than six square L miles. When he left office it had more U than doubled in area. One of the most Ú significant occurrences during his tenM ure as mayor was the adoption of a new 'I City Charter which lead the city into a % city manager form of government. ![■■ The new charter was adopted in 1956 'S and two years after he left office Mr. I Brown commented that it wasn't workS ing and that it needed revisión. These %M revisions have taken place over the fï years. He also said the mayor's job Jm should be full-time, requiring at least 40 .'■ hours work each week. Experiences of H mayorc since that time ha-ve borne out !■ tbis position. Although no one is calling ■ for the post as a full-time job the time '.í involved does approach a normal work ifl week. '& One of Mr. Brown's major areas of m concern was the city's parking system L and he was a pioneer in the field of jtl parking structures. He was often called W upon to visit other cities and advise af them on parking systems. ; . His list of conferences extends not only nationwide but worldwide. He made a number of trips to foreign countries and studied techniques and systems used I abroad. l Mr. Brown's concern over traffic did not stop at parking structures and lots, as he was also active in keeping bus service running. Not until two years ago did the city finally purchase a bus system and decide to undertake this vonture on its own- a concept Mr. Brown had urged in the 1950s. He was also an active campaigner for a new City Hall, an idea which became I reality some six years after he left ■ office. I At one point, in 1950, Mr. Brown was I considered a likely candidate for the H Republican nomination to serve in the H U.S. Congress. His name had also been H mentioned over the years as a candidate for the State Legislature. I Mr. Brown, who lived at 2116 Dorset Rd., died at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital I following an illness of several years. He I was bom May 1, 1896, in Lapeer, the son I of William E. Brown Sr. and Grace H Palmer Brown. I He married the former Eleanor Shar■ tel of Neosho, Mo., on Oct. 12, 1920. She I survives. A gradúate of Lapeer High School, I Mr. Brown carne to Ann Arbor in 3314 " innrirMrMTllWfBMM and entered the University from which I he was graduated in 1918. He served as I a lieutenant in the Army during World I War I. Mr. Brown was a member of the First I United Presbyterian Church, the Ann I Arbor Club, the Ann Arbor Golf and Outing Club, Elks Lodge No. 325, and various other organizations. ■ He was president of the former I Brown-Cress, Inc., and former secretary I of the Ann Arbor Loan & Investment Co. I He later became president of Brown & I Co. and for a number of years was I president of the Ann Arbor Agency, Inc., I the local Chevrolet dealership at that I time. Also, Mr. Brown was a member of I Selective Service Board No. 1 here and I served as its president. Survivors, in addition to Mrs. Brown, I include two sons, Dr. William E. Brown I III of Ann Arbor and Stratton S. Brown of Birmingham; two daughters, Mrs. Robert D. (Patricia) Seiler of I ham and Mrs. John H. (Eleanor) I ers of Chevy Chase, Md.; 12 grandchildren; and a sister, Mrs. Owen (Ione) J. Watts of Oklahoma City, Okla. Funeral services will be held at 11 I a.m. Friday from the First Presbyterian I Church with the Rev. Robert E. Sanders I officiating. Burial will follow at Forest I Hill Cemetery. Friends may cali at the I Muehlig Chapel from 3 to 5 p.m. and 7 to I 9 p.m. Thursday. Memorial I tions may be made to the St. Joseph I ü