A Hudson’s Bay High School teacher and coach died of coronary artery disease, according to a report released by the Clark County medical examiner Tuesday.
Bill Brown, 52, who died Saturday at home, had been diagnosed with diabetes as a teen, said his older brother, Jerry Brown.
Brown’s memorial service is 2 p.m. Thursday at Living Hope Church, 2711 N.E. Andresen Road. Evergreen Memorial Gardens is in charge of arrangements.
Jerry Brown said his brother’s death was “absolutely unexpected. We’re devastated. We’re just trying to put it back together.”
The official cause of death was listed as “occlusive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.”
Bill Brown’s children, Brandon Brown, 24, and Kaitlin Brown, 19, live in Vancouver.
A lifelong athlete, Bill Brown had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes during his football season at Lewis Junior High in 1977.
Brown had taught in Vancouver Public Schools since 1989, and at Hudson’s Bay since 1992. He taught biology and was an assistant football coach.
“He took on everybody’s problems,” Jerry Brown said about his brother. “There’s a lot of lost kids who go to that school. He gave away a piece of himself to everybody.”
The brothers last spent time together on May 30, a Saturday night. Jerry Brown said his brother liked to dance.
“He wanted to go to the Quay and listen to music, but I begged off,” said Jerry Brown. “We ended up going to McMenamins and had a nice chat. He drove me home, gave me a fist bump, and said, ‘See you later, bro.’ “
Bill Brown was a 1981 graduate of Hudson’s Bay. He played end on the Eagles football team, and was named to The Columbian’s 1980 Southwest Washington All-Star team in his senior year.
At Pacific Lutheran University, he played under Coach Frosty Westering, one of the most successful coaches in college football history. Jerry Brown recalled watching his brother play a championship game in the Kingdome in Seattle.
After college, Brown returned to Vancouver and eventually began teaching and coaching at Hudson’s Bay, his alma mater. One of the most senior teachers at Bay, he had taught and coached some current teachers, said Val Seeley, principal.
Last week, Jerry Brown drove past the football field where his brother was coaching in preparation for fall football season.
“I saw him coaching and honked. He gave me a thumbs up,” Jerry Brown said. “That was the last time I saw him. He was an extraordinary man. If it was true about anybody, it was true of him. He was a believer in God. I know where he is. I’ll see him again.”
Reporter Tom Vogt contributed to this story.
