Roy Wilcox Brown, 102, of Chillicothe, Ohio, died peacefully in his sleep after a brief illness on April 16, 2023. He was born March 8, 1921 to Roy W. and Grace (McLean) Brown, Sr. in Spring Valley, Illinois. On April 22, 1944 he married the love of his life, Frances Pickrell Brown who preceded him in death on 1/11/2018. He is survived by two daughters, Lynn (Chuck) Lidz of Ashland, Massachusetts and Trish (Alvin) Mares of Chillicothe and one son, Stephen (Cynthia) Brown of Houston, Texas; nine grandchildren and nineteen great grandchildren.

He graduated from MIT as a chemical engineer and worked for the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. from 1941 until his retirement in 1983 with most of his career in technical management. He was very proud of the ice guard technology he developed while at Goodyear in Akron. While in Piketon, Roy was the director of the technical division at the Atomic Energy Plant. He was a fighter pilot in the USAAF in World War II in the ETO theatre where he flew 84 missions in a P47. At the close of the war he was one of seven American pilots and two German pilots named "Watson's Whizzers" who were tapped to fly the German jets, Messerschmitt's or ME262's, out of Germany. The ME262 that Roy flew was initially purchased by Howard Hughes and later by Paul Allen who started Microsoft—and who attempted to get it in the air before he (Paul) died.

Roy was a long-time volunteer at Adena Regional Medical Center, a former member of the hospital board for nine years, three years as chair, and a former member of the Ross County Hospital Commission. In addition, he was an MIT Educational Counselor. He was a founder and former member of the Orchard Hill United Church of Christ and was also a member of the Sunset Club and the Symposiarchs.

Roy was a life-long learner and loved nothing more than travelling the world with Fran and playing tennis, exercise (before Covid he worked out at the Racquet Club five days a week), running, science and technology and wine. He was the best father, grandfather and great grandfather we could ever have asked for, giving us all a love of family, giving back to the community and working hard to make this world a better place. Nobody deserves to rest more than this special man who will be missed by us every day.

We would like to give special thanks to Brenda Booker for helping us to care for him in the last five years and became family in the process. We love you so much.

We would also like to thank the exceptional staff at Westmoreland who cared for him as if he were their own father for the last four months of his life. We are indebted to NCR Hospice for the loving care its team provided during the last month.

In August 2021 we were able to celebrate our father's life and honor his 100th birthday and share all our love and memories while he was still alive to receive his deserved accolades, followed by a special trip to Great Britain and Scotland to visit his ancestral home. Nothing was left unsaid and we are so grateful for the time we were able to spend with him. The family will be gathering to dispose of his and Fran's ashes at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in his name to the Adena Health Foundation, 9 South Paint St., Chillicothe, Ohio 45601.