Billy Paul Brown January 11, 1931 - November 25, 2013

Billy Brown was born in Abilene, Texas and moved to Northern California as a teenager with his parents Henry Claude & Mary Pollock Brown, and his sister, Hazel Marie. There he met the love of his life, Dixie Lee Skiles. They were married in 1952. He served in the Air Force at Patrick AFB, Florida, as a draftsman for missile tracking operations.

After being discharged in 1955 he enrolled at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where he earned his BS degree in Mechanical Engineering. From 1958 to 1995 he pursued with great passion his career in the aerospace industry, with involvement in the Apollo program, the Space Lab, and the International Space Station. He worked as a consultant to both the European Space Agency and the Japanese Government Space Program.

Besides living in both Germany and Japan, his sense of adventure took him many places around the world. His family will always remember the ski vacations to Mammoth and Tahoe, sailing trips around Newport Beach and Catalina Island, waterskiing at Folsom Lake in the summer, and family holiday gatherings.

After his retirement until he became ill early in 2013, he volunteered at the Hoag Hospital cancer center and emergency room.

He is survived by his wife, Dixie, daughter Denise and son-in-law David Golman, son Greg and daughter-in-law Marie Brown, son Mark and daughter-in-law Sonia Brown, and grandchildren Jessica Golman, John Paul (JP) Brown, and Matthew Golman.

A memorial service will be held at the Mesa Verde Country Club, Friday December 6 at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in his name to the Hoag Family Cancer Institute.