E.R. "Bud" Brown, founder of the Bud Brown Tire Center in Spokane, Wash., and a past president of the Northwest Tire Dealers Association (NWTDA) and the National Tire Dealers and Retreaders Association (NTDRA), has died. He was 83.
Brown was born in 1925 in North Platte, Neb., and played high school "leatherhead" football, basketball and track. He enlisted with the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942 and served in the South Pacific Theatre with the Third Marine Division.
Brown moved his family to Spokane in 1963 and in 1971 built the Bud Brown Tire Center in Spokane Valley, which he owned and operated until 1989.
Brown was a two-term president of the NWTDA and president of the NTDRA (now the Tire Industry Association) from 1986 to 1987.
He was a lifetime member of the Masons and Rotary International and was an active volunteer in other organizations including Meals on Wheels.
He was preceded in death by his first wife Jane Raymond Brown, and is survived by his wife of 15 years, Natalie Codd Concie Brown; daughter Jan Brown; sons Mark Brown, Russ Brown and Jeff Brown, five grandchildren, five great-grandsons, and other relatives.
Services have taken place. Donations made be made in Brown's memory to Catholic Charities Spokane, 1023 W. Riverside Ave., Spokane, WA 99201 or a charity of your choice.
