Lewis & Clark is saddened to hear of the passing of law school alumnus Judge Aaron Brown Jr. ’59 who died on August 28, 2016 at the age of 89.
Brown grew up in Portland, but moved to Nashville, TN to attend Fisk University, graduating in 1951. He returned to Portland and obtained his law degree from the Northwestern School of Law (of Lewis & Clark College) in 1959.
In 1968, Brown became a municipal court judge in Portland and the first black judge in the state of Oregon. When the Portland Municipal Court merged with the Multnomah County District Court in 1971, Governor Tom McCall appointed Brown as a district court judge. Brown successfully ran for election four times, facing opposition only once. He retired from the circuit court in 1995. Brown moved to Holly Springs, MS in 2000.
Brown leaves his wife, Alvenice Alford Brown of Holly Springs; three children, Gregory (Angela) Brown of Portland, Ore., Eric (Renee) Brown of Arlington, Texas, Yevette Makanda of Dallas, Texas; two brothers, Karl Brown of Houston, Texas, Frank Brown of New Jersey; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
