Timothy Charles Brown

Dr. Timothy Charles Brown passed away in Clinton, Utah on April 1, 2023, of natural causes at the age of 84. 

He was born in Anthony, Kansas to Gilbert Edgar Brown and Gertrude Frances Shaw. Tim graduated from Sparks High School in 1955 in Sparks, Nevada.  He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps at the age of sixteen and served as a Marine Security Guard at the U.S. Embassy in Managua, Nicaragua. There he met and later married Leda Moraima Zúñiga Fernández.  He attended the Army Language and Intelligence Schools, becoming a Thai and Spanish Intelligence Linguist. 

As a Marine, Dr. Brown received two meritorious promotions and a Letter of Commendation from Gen. Ormond Simpson.  He sat and passed the Foreign Service entrance exams pending completion of a university degree.  He left the Corps and worked as a waiter at the Nugget Casino in Sparks, Nevada, to support his family while successfully completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Nevada-Reno.  He became a Foreign Service Officer in 1965. 

As an American diplomat, Dr. Brown served in Israel, Spain, Vietnam, Mexico, Paraguay, El Salvador, The Netherlands, France and Honduras, and in Washington, D.C., as Desk Officer for Paraguay/Uruguay, acting Director of US-European Politico-Economic Affairs and Deputy Coordinator for Cuban Affairs. Dr. Brown was Consul General in the French Caribbean.  His last posting abroad was in Honduras as the Senior Liaison Officer (SLO) to the Nicaraguan Democratic Resistance (the "Contras").   

As a diplomat, he received Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards, letters of commendations from different U.S. administrations, from the President of Paraguay, and from the Thai and Vietnamese militaries.  Dr. Brown was recommended for the "National HUMINT (human intelligence) Award" for his work in Honduras.  He was made a "Son of the Regiment" by the 3rd French Foreign Legion and received commendations from the Organization of American States (OAS)’s Human Rights Office, the UN Observer Group in Central America (ONUCA), the Peace Keeping Training Center in Canada, and from the Nicaraguan Democratic Resistance.

In 1992, Dr. Brown embarked on a third career, in academia.  He earned a doctorate from New Mexico State University and became a Research Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.  He published numerous articles in academic and professional journals, and authored editorials in the Wall Street Journal and Washington Times. He spoke at conferences in the United States, France, Mexico, Peru, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, at the UN Peacekeeping Training Center in Canada, and the Joint Forces Special Operations College (JFSOC).  He enjoyed making presentations aboard cruise ships, including the Queen Elizabeth II.

Dr. Brown was also a free-lance writer, publishing four books: The Causes of Continuing Conflict in Nicaragua (Hoover); The Real Contra War (Oklahoma), When the AK-4s Fall Silent (Hoover) and DIPLOMARINE - Terrorism, Turf Wars, Cocktail Parties and Other Painful Joys (autobiography).  Dr. Brown was among 87 Marines recognized for their outstanding post-Corps achievements in Above and Beyond - Former Marines Conquer the Civilian World (Turner, 2011). 

Dr. Brown was a Rotarian, and a member of the World Association of International Studies (WAIS), American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and the Centre international de recherches et d'etudes sur le terrorism (CIRET/AVT).  

After more than 30 years of service, Timothy and Leda retired together in Gardnerville, Nevada, where they continued to enjoy life surrounded by their children, Barbara (Glade Peterson), Rebecca, Tamara, Timothy (Christine Krause), 8 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. He spent his life loving his family and making every moment a memory. He shared his love for the military and our country with his family and kept his sweet wife’s Costa Rican culture alive wherever they went.  Dr. Timothy Brown will be remembered by his family, friends, and various communities that he lived in and was involved with. 

PSALM 23

“The Lord is my Shepard; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Family and friends are invited to be a part of his viewing services on April 18, 2023, from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the Lindquist’s Syracuse Mortuary, 869 South 2000 West, Syracuse, Utah 84075.

To follow on a later date will be his urn committal in the Utah Veterans Cemetery & Memorial Park in Bluffdale, Utah. 

Attached is a link to a tribute video that the family has created: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oME0628b-lk

Condolences may be shared at: www.lindquistmortuary.com