Former Colorado Lt. Gov. and State Sen. George L. Brown, who made American history in the 1970s as the first African-American elected lieutenant governor of a state, died peacefully in his sleep March 31, 2006 at his home in Boca Raton, Fla. He was 79.
Brown was appointed to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1955, and later made history when he became the first African American elected to the Colorado State Senate. He was re-elected to the senate to five consecutive four-year terms.
In 1974, in the middle of his fifth Senate term, he entered the history books when he was elected lieutenant governor. He beat Mervyn Dymally of California to become the first black elected to the post by one hour because of the time difference between the two regions.
In 1979, Brown joined the Grumman Corp. as Vice President for Marketing. He was later promoted to Senior Vice President in charge of world-wide regional offices. He completed the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program in 1980 and worked as Grumman’s chief lobbyist in Washington, D.C., until his retirement in 1990.
George Brown was born on July 1, 1926, in Lawrence, Kan. He served as a Tuskegee Airman during World War II.
Brown graduated from the University of Kansas in 1950 with a B.S. in Journalism. Following graduation, he moved to Denver, Colorado and worked as a writer, and later night city editor, for The Denver Post, becoming the first African-American editor for a major daily newspaper in the Rocky Mountain region. He also served as the Director of the Denver Housing Authority.
Brown is survived by his wife, Modeen; two sisters, Harriet M. Baskerville of Lawrence, Kan., and Laura E. Gilyard (James) of Denver, Col.; four daughters, Gail Chandler (Rick) of Ontario, Calif., Cindy Brown of Denver, Colorado, Kim Brown of Port St. Lucie, Fla., and Laura Mitchell of Milwaukee, Wisc.; four stepdaughters, Angela Ashley (Rubelle) of Port Charlotte, Fla., Carolyn Smith (John) of Bradenton, Fla., Sharolyn Williams of Port Charlotte, Fla., and Nyra Crenshaw of Los Angeles, Calif.; a stepson, Ronald Crenshaw (Wendy) of Bakersfield, Calif.; seven grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, a host of nieces and nephews, other relatives and friends.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at the Spanish River Church, 2400 NW 51st Street, Boca Raton, Fla.
