Funeral Services Held For Firefighter Clay Brown

June 29, 2024

Funeral services were held Friday in  for firefighter Clay Brown, Jr., 27, who passed away in an early Saturday morning, June 22 single vehicle crash on Highway 87 north of Jay.

He was a career firefighter for Escambia County Fire-Rescue and a volunteer for the Jay Volunteer Fire Department.

Funeral services took play Friday at the True Worship Assembly of God in Jay with burial following at Full Gospel Community Church in Brewon.

For a photo gallery, click or tap here.

Brown was born in Pensacola on Sept. 18, 1996, to James “Moo” and Jeanne Brown. He graduated from Jay High School in 2015 where he was a proud Jay Royal on the football and weightlifting teams. There, he made many lasting bonds of friendship on the field, in the weight room and the classroom.

While in high school, Brown discovered his calling to the fire service and, at age 16, joined the Jay Volunteer Fire Department as a junior volunteer firefighter.

Following his desire for service, Brown enlisted in the U.S. Navy on March 1, 2016. He was stationed in Bremerton, Wash., and spent time in Everett, Wash. and San Diego, Calif. for the four years he served.

Brown was assigned to the aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Nimitz. He had one deployment during his enlistment for seven months to the Persian Gulf, which placed his ship in position to conduct anti-ISIS strikes in Syria and Iraq. Following his time on the U.S.S Nimitz, Brown served as an Aviation Support Equipment Technician (AS3) as an F4 for the remainder of this service.

Upon returning to his hometown of Jay, Brown enrolled in the Fire Academy to once again serve his community. He attended Northwest Florida State College for Firefighter I/II training, where he formed many bonds of friendship with soon-to-be firefighters.

Once his training was completed, Brown was hired on at Pace Fire Rescue District. From there, he moved to the Holley-Navarre Fire District – Station #41, and then found his permanent home with Escambia County Fire Rescue, serving at Station #1 in Bellview and finally at Station #7 in Ferry Pass.

Brown was an avid outdoorsman. He hunted and fished as often as possible. He was a usual participant during the Duck, Deer and Turkey seasons. Brown was a proud member of the Travis Road Hunting Club, where he enjoyed time at the “Hunting Camp” with his father and many of his father’s lifelong friends and their sons and daughters. Along with hunting, Brown also enjoyed hiking, spending much time in Idaho, which he considered his second home. His love of the outdoors extended to farming as he always looked forward to the planting and harvest seasons, always lending a helping hand to his farming friends.

Brown will always be remembered by his family, friends, and fellow firefighters as a happy and big personality who brought love and light into every room he entered. He was a member of the Full Gospel Community Church in Dixonville, Ala. where he accepted Jesus into his heart and his life, and received love and guidance from a special lifelong friend and pastor, Brother Bill Thompson.

lay Brown is survived by his mother and father, Moo and Jeanne Brown, of Jay, his sister, Kasey Yalch, special nephews, Jayce Clay Stokes and Jameson Haveard, and niece, Sawyer Haveard. He is also survived by Uncles John “Cliff” Cory Brown of Jay, Don McNabb of Levittown, Penn., Michael McNabb of Waveland, Miss., and Rick Sexton of Winchester, Calif.; Aunts, Vicki Dixon of Pace, Jeannie Johnson of Urbana, Iowa; Great Uncles Harry Hawthorne, Ray Daugette and Bruce Daugette of Milton, and numerous cousins on both sides of his family.

He is predeceased by his grandparents, Claude and Mary Nan Brown and William and Bertha (Boots) Sexton, all of Jay. Clay is also predeceased by his uncles, William Sexton, Jr. of St. Augustine, Fla., Mickey McNabb of Jemison, Ala., Wendell (Mac) McNabb of Jefferson, La., and Susan McNabb of Marianna, Fla.

Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

2 Responses to “Funeral Services Held For Firefighter Clay Brown”

  1. Angi on June 29th, 2024 2:05 pm

    I am so sorry for the loss of your son, Moo.
    Praying for the entire family…

  2. Me on June 29th, 2024 8:53 am

    RIP Brother, we’ve got it from here.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News