Gerald P. Brown

Gerald Parker Brown came to the law firm in 1951 following a World War II tour of duty with the U.S. Marines and a distinguished educational career at the University of Arkansas where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.

When Mr. Brown joined the firm, Mr. Cathey anticipated that he would become an "office lawyer" because of his scholarly background. Mr. Cathey was wrong. Mr. Brown became one of the top trial lawyers in Northeast Arkansas.

Mr. Brown continued in the active practice of law until 1975, at which time he took a "temporary" appointment as chancellor in the Twelfth Chancery Circuit followed by a "temporary" appointment as circuit judge in the Second Judicial Circuit. Mr. Brown decided that he would like to continue on the bench and was elected circuit judge, a position he held until his retirement at the end of 1986. In 1979, he was honored as Trial Judge of the Year by the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association.

In his early days in the practice, Mr. Brown was very active in the organization of the Paragould Youth Baseball leagues. He served as president of the Paragould Kiwanis Club and on three different occasions served as chairman of the board of the Arkansas Methodist Hospital. He served as president of the Greene-Clay Bar Association and the Northeast Arkansas Bar Association and was a member of the first House of Delegates of the Arkansas Bar Association.

Since his retirement from the bench, he has continued his community service by working on a voluntary basis with students of all ages in an attempt to give them a better understanding of the judicial system. He has been honored by the Arkansas Judicial Council with its Community Service award and by the Paragould/Greene County Chamber of Commerce with its Life Citizen award.

Judge Brown and his wife, Lottie, still live in Paragould. They have three children, Ronald J. Brown, a Virginia attorney; Clifford Allen Brown, who resides in Great Britain (the Browns enjoy house-sitting at this son's home); and Celia "Bunny" Brown Lee, who lives in Paragould.

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