The final bell rang for Mr. Brown at 11:08 a.m., June 11th, 2024. He flew away surrounded by family and hopefully enjoying some classic mariachi tunes playing in the background. Join us to celebrate a life well lived Saturday, August 3rd, 2024 from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the Indianola Activity Center.
Born April 8th, 1935 at home in rural Ringold County to Walter and Aldah Brown, Arlan Kay grew up on the family farm with his nine brothers and sisters, where he was nestled in at number six. His lifelong love of nature, science and the outdoors started with time spent tending the farm, especially the hours plowing the fields with his horses Bud and Cap. Throughout high school he could be found on the basketball court (yes, it’s true, we have pictures), the drama stage or the dance floor until graduation in 1952 from Beaconsfield, Iowa in a class the size you can count on one hand. His connection to that time and place never wavered, every Memorial Day weekend until they ceased to hold them, he could be found at the all-school reunion, perhaps even missing his own wedding rehearsal dinner to do so.
Arlan had dreams of becoming a surgeon until an unfortunate incident involving a corn picker at the age of 17 caused him to acquire his impressive “right hook.” Told he could still practice medicine and become a doctor, he decided if surgery wasn’t in the cards he wanted to teach and share his love of science, encouraging others to accomplish their goals and become the very best they could be. “Handicap” was not a label he owned and would frequently, and forcefully if needed, correct those who felt otherwise. Overall, he was more capable than many with two hands whether swinging a sledgehammer, an ax or using a typewriter. He loved children and was like a magnet for them, or maybe part of that was the hook; often with horrified parents and onlookers standing by he would take time for an impromptu explanation and demonstration just about anywhere.
Indianola captured his heart while attending Simpson College earning his Bachelor of Arts in 1957. After graduation he moved to Mount Ayr, Iowa and began his 43-year teaching career. Five years later he returned to Indianola and taught one year at the high school before taking off to Boulder, Colorado where he earned his Master of Basic Science in 1964. The world got a lot bigger later that year when he began a two-year Peace Corps stint, teaching science courses at the University of El Salvador.
Returning to Indianola in 1967, he met his beautiful wife Linda – a new elementary teacher in town. They wed Memorial Day weekend of 1970 and had 54 years and 12 days of married life where they raised three daughters; with the arrival of number three he acknowledged that he was not meant to sit at the Little League field. The travel bug bit hard the summer of ’71 and found Arlan traveling to Nepal with The Teach Corps, where he helped write a national science curriculum – an experience of a lifetime and a literal trip around the world.
Mr. Brown is best known for his Biology and Physio/Anatomy courses through the science department at Indianola High School (IHS) yet was often found attending games, meets, shows and concerts, supporting the activities and passions of his students. He believed every student could be successful and maintained an open-door policy - arriving early/staying late at school or opening the living room at home for review sessions before a test. Three of his favorite things each year included: Homecoming – when he would wear each and every homecoming button from years past, often dress up like Captain Hook or Inspector Gadget and looked forward to judging the skits, most years included a kid or two attempting to liven it up by playing the part of him; Graduation – he attended every year, arrived early and made it to every graduation party he was invited to if at all possible, often with family in tow; and The Fetal Pig Lab - he loved labs, creativity, and hands-on learning, but also searched high and low to find small unique pigs to bestow upon each student at the end of year, not a small task even in Iowa. Although there were many accomplishments and awards over the years, one shines especially bright; becoming a finalist in the National Teacher in Space Program for 1985-86, where he and his originally designed experiment were in the running to launch with the space shuttle Challenger.
If not from IHS many may know him from his 25 ½ years at Walmart. When his oldest got ready to head off to college, he took on a part-time job being one of the first people hired in Indianola helping to build and stock shelves before the store opened. He enjoyed many different roles over the years from sporting goods, to paint, to manager but most of all he enjoyed every encounter with the people he worked with and served. As an added perk, he was chosen on more than one occasion to represent the store and traveled to Arkansas for special events; he loved to travel, even to Arkansas.
Indianola saw lots of him in other spaces and places too. His love of the Spanish language and culture found him teaching many a summer school programs introducing children to the language. He served as the Warren County translator for years, often getting a call in the middle of the night to head to the county jail or, in one instance, receiving a call while on shift at Walmart to assist a medical facility so the patient could receive the care they required. He was an active member of Y’s Men, ran the snack shack at the Little League field (see note above), and volunteered with the Red Cross and Amanda the Panda.
Ballooning is integral to Indianola and for Mr. B, his love and dedication for it lasted over 50 years. He loved to fly and although he was assured he could pilot – he knew he would not be comfortable taking passengers, so preferred to let someone else do the flying and just enjoy the ride; as you’ve likely gathered, almost every joy is about his interactions with people. He had many roles over the years from president, to working in the information booth (Santa’s house), securing chase crews for the pilots or giving grief to the emergency response teams pretending he lost his arm in a ballooning accident. In true Arlan form, after the close of the event, he would send a letter to each pilot thanking them for allowing him to help them fulfill their crew needs. He even went so far as to create an award “Hooked on Crewing” which now resides with his daughters, as ballooning is something each of them loved to do with their dad.
As if he was not busy enough he enjoyed working in the garden, researching genealogy, scoping for antiques, piecing together jigsaw puzzles, dabbling in photography (back in the day when cameras were not point and shoot), watching Jeopardy, tutoring, teaching night classes at Simpson, writing – fun little ditties for his graduating seniors or trying his hand a poetry, and baking holiday treats - making the best toffee and date pinwheels in addition to spending hours rolling, cutting out and painting sugar cookies.
He has been called many things over the years, some not appropriate to print here, yet others include icon, legend, friend, family, husband, and dad. Regardless of what you called him, go out there, live your best life, and make something of yourself – he would expect nothing less.
Memorials may be given to the family in Arlan’s memory for a memorial to be determined at a later date.
