Henry T. Brown Jr.

Henry Thomas Brown Jr. of Rantoul, Illinois passed away on Monday, October 5, 2026.

Henry Thomas Brown Jr. was born at Carle Hospital in Urbana, Illinois, on January 17, 1953, to Henry T. Brown Sr. and Lyllian C., nee McManaway, Brown.

Henry graduated from Champaign Central High School in Champaign, Illinois, in 1971.

Henry was trained to be an electronics Technician from training that he received while he was in the U.S. Navy from November 1981 to November 1987.

Henry left the U.S. Navy in 1987 after 6 years of service as an Electronics Technician Second Class. Henry was a plank owner on the USS Vincennes (CG-49), guided missile cruiser. A plank owner is a member of the ship’s crew when the ship was first commissioned into the U.S. Navy fleet.

The USS Vincennes (CG-49) was decommissioned on June 29, 2005, in San Diego, California, after serving in the U.S. Navy since 1985. The ship was later scrapped in 2011.

After Henry’s enlistment in the U.S. Navy was done, he lived and worked in the San Diego, California area for a Navy contractor from 1987 until 1994.

Henry did electronics work for this Navy contractor on the same type of ship that he had been stationed on while he was in the Navy.

Henry moved back to his home state of Illinois in October 1994 and after several short-lived jobs eventually was hired in December of 1995 as an Electronics Technician in the Media Services department at Eastern Illinois University.

Henry retired after 20 years of service from the Media Services department at Eastern Illinois University on January 1, 2016.

After retiring, Henry was a caregiver for his second stepmom, Alice Arline, nee Spain, Miller-Brown, until her death in March of 2016. Henry then became the caregiver for his Dad, until his dad’s death in September of 2017.

Henry was also preceded in death by his mother, Lyllian C., nee McManaway, Brown, in 1981, stepmom, Nella, nee Zecca, Williamson-Brown in 1995, a younger brother, Gregory E. Brown, in 2000, a great, great nephew, Kamden Blanchard, in 2012, a younger sister, Becky L. Brown in 2022, a younger brother, Brian M. Brown in 2022, and another younger brother, Jeffrey D. Brown in 2026.

Henry enjoyed doing family history research and Henry also helped with the care of his two younger brothers, Brian Brown and Jeff Brown.

Cremation services will be provided for Henry by the Sunset Funeral Home, 710 N. Neil St., Champaign, IL 61820. The cremated remains will be interred in a family cremation monument located in East Lawn Cemetery in Urbana, Illinois. 

Please join Henry's family in sharing memories, photos, and videos on his tribute wall at www.sunsetuneralhome.com.