JEFFERSON, Texas--Jimmy Brown, writer, photographer, World War II veteran and humorist known to many Church of God members in and around Big Sandy, died in a nursing home here Oct. 31, 2002 after an illness of several months.

Mr. Brown, 82, was a friend of Worldwide Church of God founder Herbert W. Armstrong and many other Church of God members. He had been a reporter, photographer and columnist for The Associated Press and, in East Texas, The Gladewater Mirror and The Gilmer Mirror and was a familiar figure with his Nikon, jeans, T-shirt and tennis shoes while shooting photos during the Feast of Tabernacles and other WCG functions in Big Sandy.

In the early '90s Mr. Brown was a frequent guest lecturer in mass-communication classes at Ambassador University.

Gilmer Mirror editor Mac Overton referred to Mr. Brown as an "unforgettable character" and "a genuine American hero."

Mr. Brown was survived by his seriously ill wife, Sonja, also 82, who, coincidentally, died a few hours after Mr. Brown died.