Getting to Know Jim Brown – St. Thomas Pastoral Council Member

Jim was born March 25th in a little town called Elkhorn Wisconsin. He was raised on a busy farm of
600 acres where they raised all kinds of farm animals. His father came from a family of farmers and his mom
from a family in the printing business. He has a brother and a sister; he is the youngest and the “biggest”, he says. The family all worked on the farm and the kids helped before, after school and on the weekends. Jim was able to squeeze in playing football while in high school and some in college. It was a busy, hard life but very memorable for Jim, and later for his kids who enjoyed visiting the farm. It was eventually sold, his father stayed busy helping at other farms doing what he enjoyed.

Growing up, Jim was not religious. The family did not follow any religion or attend church. Becoming a religious man came later in life during his college years. Jim worked hard helping on the farm and enjoyed competitions in 4-H and FFA where he and his show animals won many competitions. He had an Angus steer that was like a pet to him. He was also an escape artist who would untie himself and visit all the other steers. This paid for his college education. In his 20s, during the summers, he was able to travel throughout the Midwest, helping young kids with their show animals to compete. No surprise his farm life is a very memorable one. 

Jim’s favorite subjects in school were chemistry and biology. He went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he majored in Agricultural Economics. His memories living there were not the most memorable, a trying time for him. He witnessed several riots and would not like to go back there.

Jim is married to Karen, who was born and raised Catholic. They met at work in Milwaukee Wisconsin. She was an executive assistant at the food plant where they worked. A year after they met, they got married and moved to Ohio. There Jim went to work for another company. From there, they moved to Illinois, then to South Lake, Texas to work at a plant in Fort Worth; and Karen became a busy housewife and active mom. They enjoyed their time there. Jim describes it as being on vacation because of the laidback environment and much friendlier, compared to where they have lived before. Not to mention Jim had a great boss. He moved to Illinois to work for OSI, the company he eventually retired from. Jim was in the food industry for 69 years and managed several plants. He worked for Schlitz Brewing Company, several food companies, and OSI where he did most of his business travel. Jim definitely knows his stuff when it comes to food processing and regulations behind it.

Jim and Karen have five children, four girls and a boy. The four girls live in Texas and his son lives in Illinois. Jim and Karen have eleven grandchildren ranging from 16 years to 2 years old. They raised their children Catholic and as a family would pray together. One of his daughters and his son attended Franciscan University of Steubenville. As a family, they enjoyed traveling, tent camping, visiting museums and learning the history of the towns they visited.

Jim and Karen moved back to Texas after he retired, to be near their children and grandchildren. They bought their Canyon Lake home five years ago and moved here two and half years ago. Prior to moving down here they would visit the area and attend St Thomas Church when Fr. Alberic was here. They enjoyed the small town feel and have made this their retirement place.

Jim doesn’t sing or dance, but he laughs as he recalls a daughter/daddy dance he attended with his daughter. It was a double date of fathers with their daughters. Jim had “fierce” competition with the girl’s father, “Michael Jackson”. Jim and Karen travel for fun and have taken several pilgrimages abroad. One of his most memorable one is a pilgrimage with Steve Ray. He highly recommends the one to the holy land with Steve Ray who has many connections, and can get you into places other tourists are not allowed. On one of their Rome trips, Jim attended a canonization service with Pope John Paul 11. He has a lot to share about his trips. On his bucket list is an Alaskan Cruise, the Vatican Observatory in Arizona, and Utah to visit the five national parks.

For fun Jim enjoys playing golf, likes to fish, and used to do a lot of hunting.
He is part of the church Pastoral Council, he is a Knight, and has been in the ACTS men retreat.

Thank you, Jim for all you do for our church!