Curtis Brown

Curtis L. Brown, 56, passed away Wednesday, June 17, 2020, at his home in Jackson.

He was born Sept. 27, 1963, in Iowa City, Iowa, to Dale and Joyce Sasseen Brown. He and Kara Cracraft were married June 6, 2015, in Jackson.

Curt was a 1982 graduate of Jackson High School, where he played football, wrestled and ran track. In 1982, he placed second in the Missouri State Wrestling Tournament.

He entered the U.S. Army on Sept. 4, 1986. He was a telecom operations chief, specializing in satellite communications. His duty stations included Germany; South Korea; Fort Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska; Fort Lewis in Washington; White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico; and 13 months in Iraq. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Overseas Service Bar, Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with Arrow Head Device, Driver and Mechanic Badge and Basic Marksmanship Qualification Badge. He was honorably discharged Oct. 31, 2006, and then received a degree in business administration from St. Martin's University in Lacey, Washington.

Upon returning to Jackson in 2009, Curt worked for Missouri Division of Youth Services in Cape Girardeau, retiring in 2015. He still had a competitive spirit and liked to play ping pong and racquetball, but especially enjoyed pickle ball. He took first place in pickle ball at the SEMO Show Me Games and even traveled the U.S. to compete in tournaments.

Curtis Brown

Curt was an awesome grandfather and an avid pet lover.

Loving survivors include his wife, Kara Brown of Jackson; children, Whitney (Kelly) Vines of Cape Girardeau and Zachary (Preslie) Brown of Seattle; grandchildren, Camden, Kinley, Natalie and Gavin Vines; parents, Dale and Joyce Brown of Jackson; siblings, Phil (Terri) Brown of Paris, Tennessee, Laura (Mike) Green, Doug (Teresa) Brown and Ron (Donna) Brown, all of Jackson; and many uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews.

Other survivors include his mother-in-law, Shirley (the late Jack) Cracraft of Cape Girardeau; brothers-in-law, Lynn (Julie) Cracraft of St. Charles, Missouri, and Kevin (Rita) Cracraft of Cape Girardeau; and sisters-in-law, Jan (Vince) Kelley, Jill (Chris) Janet and Laura (Steve) Nolan, all of Cape Girardeau.

He was preceded in death by an infant brother, Russell Brown.

Visitation will be from 3 to 7 p.m. at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson.

Funeral will be at 7 p.m. Monday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Fred Burgard officiating, immediately followed by military honors. Burial will be private at Missouri State Veterans Cemetery in Bloomfield.

To assist the family, online memorials may be given by clicking on the donations tab of Curt's personal obituary page at mccombsfuneralhome.com.

The family also suggested the following charities: Washington University by contributing online at gifts.wustl.edu or checks may be mailed to Washington University (MEMO Brown Glioblastoma Research Fund), 7425 Forsyth Blvd., Campus Box 1247, St. Louis, MO 63105; or Avenue of Flags, c/o VFW Post 3838, 1049 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701.

Online condolence messages may be sent to the family by clicking on the tribute wall tab of Curt's personal obituary page at www.mccombsfuneralhome.com.