Marc Brown

Marc S. Brown was a gracious and generous man and above all, deeply loyal to his family. He was a successful businessman who operated on a principle of honesty and respect for every customer and employee. His lifelong devotion to both his family and his strong sense of faith made Marc an inspiration to everyone he met.

Marc was born on August 25, 1953 to Curtis and Helen (Spern) Brown. He was the middle of five children growing up in a small three-bedroom house in the city of Detroit. In his early years, Marc developed a love for baseball that would remain with him for the rest of his life, both as a player and as a fan. Marc's mother was a devout Catholic and she made sure that Marc attended Catholic schools up until his freshman year. He then switched to West Bloomfield High School, from which he graduated in 1971. During his senior year there, he met a young lady named Leslie Herrscher. Marc fell head-over heels in love with Leslie - he used to follow her around school and drive up and down her street whenever he was able. She thought he was very cute, and before long the two set up a date.

Their first date began with a movie, appropriately titled "Love Story" followed by a visit to The Clock restaurant. While they were there, Marc poured his heart out to Leslie, especially about the hardship of losing his mother only a few years before. This was the beginning of a long romance that led up to their marriage in June of 1973. They were married at Mother of Mercy Chapel and honeymooned in the beautiful West End of the Bahamas. From the hotel, Marc used the rabbit ears on their little 13" television to try and watch the Watergate trial.

The greatest day of Marc's life happened three times to be exact. The births of each of his three children were incomparable moments of emotional magnitude for Marc. Marc looked upon all of his children with the utmost pride and affection. He taught them to respect others and brought them up to be Catholics. No matter how busy his career kept him, Marc always had plenty of time to spend with his family.

In 1978, Marc and his father Curt started a business together, called Metal Flow Corporation. He learned the stamping trade at Advance Stamping Company in Detroit and with his father as the brains and Marc as the muscle, they set up shop. The business was an amazing success. Marc focused all of his efforts on running the company flawlessly and rewarded his customers and staff alike with great respect. Watching his company succeed was a source of great pride and satisfaction for Marc.

The success of his company allowed Marc to do many things, especially travel. The trips he took to Italy were of great importance to Marc for many reasons. He often pointed to his trip to Rome and to the Vatican as the best trip of his life. This was a life-changing experience for Marc, and his faith was forever energized. He also visited Sicily and San Cataldo, the ancestral home of his mother’s family. Marc's favorite place outside of his own home was Italy. Marc took his good fortune and gave back again and again to his community. He was instrumental in raising funds to inaugurate a new educational institution called Corpus Christi Catholic School. He also served on the board of directors for the Holland Chamber of Commerce as well as a board member for HEDCOR. He was recognized by the Holland Chamber of Commerce as the Small Businessperson of the Year in 1993 for all of his wonderful accomplishments. One of Marc's greatest qualities was his immense loyalty to his family. He was proud of each of his children in their own special way. He was proud of his son Brian for choosing to continue the legacy at Metal Flow Corporation, especially because Marc was able to mentor his own son. He was also very proud of Brian and his wife Rebekah for their great marriage and the two wonderful grandchildren, Austin and Allison, they blessed him with. In recent years his grandchildren became the light of his life. When he played with them, Marc’s family often wondered who the adult was. He was very proud of and devoted to his son Justin and gave him unconditional love and special care throughout his life. Marc's princess, Chelsea, brought him great pride by choosing to attend Notre Dame this fall and her accomplishments, both academically and morally, filled Marc with joy.

Marc had an extremely close relationship with his brothers, Mike and Kevin and sisters, Karen and Kate. Their bond and closeness strengthened with the death of their mother when they were young. As adults each of them worked in the family business, enjoyed traveling together, and were very good friends. The tradition of closeness continues with all the siblings’ children.

Marc was grateful for all the wonderful bounties in his life. He had a booming business, a beautiful loving wife, three great kids and two special grandchildren to share his good fortunes with. He will live on through all of them and his many benevolent legacies left through a life of integrity. Marc passed away on Thursday, August 14, 2003. He is predeceased by his parents - Helen Brown in 1964, Curtis H. Brown in 1993, brother C. Michael Brown in 2002 and sister Kimberly Brown in 1964. Surviving is his wife Leslie; Children Brian and Rebekah Brown, Justin Brown, and Chelsea Brown all of Holland; two grandchildren, Austin and Allison Brown. Sisters and Brother Karen Brown, Kate Brown, and Kevin Brown and Chris Gockman all of Holland; Sisters-in-Law Becky Shankwiler-Brown of Holland and Barbara and Warren Levin of Huntington Woods, MI; Grandmother Grace Spern of Titusville, Fl; Uncle, aunts, nephews, nieces, and cousins.

Services will be 10:30 am Tuesday at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church with the Rev. Phillip Nguyen officiating. Burial will be in Graafschap Cemetery. Friends may visit with the family from 1-3 PM and from 6-9 PM Monday at the Northwood Chapel, Dykstra Funeral Homes; located at 295 Douglas Ave. To read Marc's complete life story, share a memory, send flowers, or make a memorial contribution to the Corpus Christi Catholic School, please visit his personal web page at www.lifestorynet.com.

Marc was a gracious and loyal man who through demonstrations of compassion and respect was an inspiration to many. He will be greatly missed.