Steve Brown, 66, formerly of Sebastian, died on June 16, 2014. Steve was born in Maryville, Tenn., on Sept. 22, 1947.
Steve received a B.S. from East Tennessee State University, and M.S. from Oklahoma State University, and a Ph. D. from Century University.
He moved to Florida in 1972 and worked in the school districts of Duval, Okeechobee, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties as a science teacher. His extensive teaching career included a seven year stint at Kennedy Space Center as an Aerospace Education Specialist. Steve was selected to participate in the Fulbright Memorial Fund Master Teacher Program to Japan in 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2006, and was a Fulbright-Hayes Scholar to India in 2008, where he studied the Japanese and Indian cultures and taught in their schools. He retired from teaching in 2009.
Steve married Shirley Shurtleff in 1985 in Roanoke, Va. They lived in Sebastian until 2011, when she also retired from teaching.
They then moved to Asheville, N.Ca., where they had begun to enjoy the music, arts, food and cultural activities the region offers. They made three trips to Japan after retirement, continuing to pursue Steve’s love of its culture and people.
Steve was an accomplished musician who could play almost anything with strings, including the guitar, banjo, mandolin, dulcimer and fiddle. He enjoyed countless jam sessions with musicians and friends over the years, and was a member of a local band called the Indian River Boys during the 1990s.
In his early adult years, Steve gave private lessons for Tommy Covington Music Stores in Maryville, Tenn., and Melody Music in Vero Beach and Okeechobee.
Steve was preceded in death by his dear parents, Quinton and Betty; and his brother-in-law, Russell.
Survivors include his spouse, Shirley; his daughter, Christine (Jeremy) Guist; his son, Jesse (Valerie) Brown; his sister, Brenda (Benny) DeLozier; his brother, George (Connie) McMullen; his grandsons, Geoffrey and Christopher; and nieces, nephews, cousins and friends around the world.
A Celebration of Life for Steve took place on June 22, 2014, in Alcoa, Tenn.
Donations can be made to further research and seek a cure for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) at www.als.org.