Tree to be Dedicated at UA Nov. 13 in Honor of Tuscaloosa’s James, Marine and Anna Brown

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama will honor Tuscaloosans James Maxwell Brown, his sister, Marine L. Brown, and first cousin, Anna Brown, for their lifetimes of service to the University and Tuscaloosa community by dedicating a tree in their honor Thursday, Nov. 13 at 10 a.m. on the UA Quad.

Also, during the ceremony, officials from AmSouth Bank will present the University with a $1 million check from the estate of James Brown. As designated by the Brown estate, half of the monies will be used to establish the James Maxwell Brown Crimson Scholars Fund through the UA National Alumni Association. The remaining half will establish an endowment, the income from which will be used for needs determined by the UA president.

Lifelong residents of Tuscaloosa, James Brown died in 2001 and Marine Brown died this past July. Anna Brown, 95, will attend the ceremony, along with UA President Robert E. Witt and his wife, Anne. Anne Witt was a student of Anna Brown’s at Tuscaloosa High School.

“This tree will provide a lasting tribute to James, Marine and Anna Brown for their generous acts and the lifetimes of service they gave to this University and the Tuscaloosa community that they loved so much,” said Butch Hughes, planned giving officer at UA.

All three Browns are UA alumni and are longtime friends and supporters of UA, having befriended every UA president from George Denny to Robert Witt.

Neither James nor Marine Brown ever married and they shared a house for many years. James Brown joined First Baptist Church in 1918 at the age of 14, and served more than 50 years as a deacon, 24 years as secretary to the Board of Deacons and 21 years as church clerk. A 1928 alumnus of UA’s College of Commerce and Business Administration, he was self-employed in real estate and property appraising for most of his career.

Active in UA alumni affairs, he was a founding member of the University’s Golden Fifties Club, an organization for alumni who graduated 50 or more years ago. He was perhaps best known for chronicling local news and events as the editor of the Exchange Club’s newsletter, The Unitor, for some 55 years.

Marine Brown attended UA and Brenau College in Gainesville, Ga. She is well remembered by students she taught at Stafford and Verner Elementary Schools in Tuscaloosa. After retirement, she taught a class of foreign students at the Baptist Student Center at UA. Like her brother, she was a long-time member of First Baptist Church, where she taught Sunday School.

Anna Brown received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from UA in 1930 and 1932. She taught English at Tuscaloosa High School for 40 years and retired in 1970 as head of the English department.