Milton Ralph Brown
Milton Ralph Brown, 81, of Winona, MS, passed away April 22, 2010, at Winona Manor in Winona, MS. Funeral services were held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, April 26, at Oliver Chapel, with Rev. Rusty Fair officiating. A visitation was held on Monday from 9:00 until 11:00 a.m. at Oliver Funeral Home.
Mr. Brown was born June 24, 1928, and grew up in Stewart, MS during the great depression. Ralph was a member of 4-H showing Jersey cattle which he milked to make ends meet for his family. He graduated from Kilmichael High School and attended Mississippi State College where he worked with the dairy herd and in the cafeteria to pay for his education. He was on the dairy judging team at Mississippi State College. While at Mississippi State, he was sent to Cornell University for training in the artificial insemination of cattle. He was proud to become the first person certified in the state for artificial insemination.
After he married his wife of 60 years, Bettye Jeanne Mitchell, on May 1, 1949, they managed and showed Jersey herds around the state before returning to the farm near Lodi, MS. After the birth of their first child, they left the farm and moved to Winona where Ralph worked as a supervisor for McGregor Manufacturing for 17 years. He moved to Kennett, Missouri, as plant manager for Ely Walker where he worked for over 15 years before retiring as quality control manager for the southeast. He had cattle all his life and after retirement, moved back to Winona in 1987 as a fulltime cattleman.
Ralph was a lifelong stockman whose love of animals led to the raising of many breeds of chickens and fowl, sheep, goats, Quarter horses, commercial cattle, registered Angus, Texas Longhorn, ChiAngus, and Dexter cattle over his lifetime. He and his family were fortunate to breed and show many champion animals over the course of his life, including three national champions. He was a professional rodeo announcer for over 20 years. He was a past president of the Carroll-Leflore-Montgomery County Cattlemen’s Association, a member of the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association, American Angus Association, Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America, Dixie Texas Longhorn Breeders Association, American Chianina Association, American Dexter Cattle Association, and the Purebred Dexter Cattle Association. He was named Cattleman of the Year for the CLM Cattlemen’s Association in 1991, and he and Bettye were named Grandparents of the Year by the TLBT in 1992. He loved his cattle and working on the farm. He was a member of North Winona Baptist Church.
Mr. Brown is predeceased by his parents Milton and Mable Brown of Stewart. He is survived by his wife, Bettye; two children, Kipp of Winona; Kim of Madison; and two grandchildren, Stacey of Star and Justin of Winona.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Ralph be made to Mississippi Cattlemen's Foundation, 680 Monroe St., Suite A, Jackson, MS 39202, or Winona Christian School, 1014 S. Applegate, Winona, MS 38967.
