Joel Brown (left) and his son and grandson. (Photos courtesy Matt Brown)
Joel Brown, a vital part of a much-loved Coupeville family, passed away Friday night.
The following remembrance is courtesy his son, Matt:
Joel Nelson Brown was born on July 17, 1957 to Leonard and Patricia Brown in Coupeville, Washington. He was the youngest of three boys.
Joel completed school and went on to the Coast Guard.
He married Shelley Alexander and they had one son, Matt. They also adopted a second son, Scott.
Joel had many jobs and positions in the Coupeville community.
He was on the school board, owned and operated Genesis Hair Care in Greenbank and Coupeville, was a Hunters Education instructor, and worked for the Navy Exchange in Oak Harbor and other states.
He came back to Washington and lived in Bellingham where he was a manager for the Nooksack Casino.
Joel moved back to Coupeville and while living with his brother became ill and contracted a blood infection that severely damaged his spine.
After several emergency surgeries the doctors were able to save his life but could not save his spine. He was a quadriplegic.
Joel spent the last year of his life in Harborview, then the Seattle VA spinal cord unit and finally moved into Retsil Veterans Home in Port Orchard in July of 2017.
Through it all Joel remained the funny, sarcastic and loving man he always was.
He never complained about his limitations and the intense treatments and care he had to receive daily.
He made a point to give all he could to his family and be a force for good in their lives and in the lives of those around him.
Joel again became ill in December of 2017 and contracted an infection as a result of his quadriplegia and his body could not recover.
After many weeks in the hospital without improvement Joel and his family wanted him to come home to Retsil to be comfortable and surrounded with the people who cared for him.
Joel passed away peacefully and quietly on the evening of January 19, 2018.
He was with family and the staff who cared for him when he passed.
Joel is survived by his brothers, Patrick and Barry, his sons, Matt and Scott and his beloved grandchildren Kayleigh, Hunter and Jackson.
A celebration of life is being planned and will be announced.
We know many people want to be there and are tentatively planning it for the late spring in Coupeville.
To help the Brown family, pop over to:
https://www.gofundme.com/51707c8
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