Harold Rayfield Brown

Harold Rayfield Brown of Flanders died Nov. 28 at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead. He was 74.

He was born May 4, 1936, to Alonzo and Vandell (Booker) Brown in Cartersville, Va. He later moved to Riverhead, where he attended Riverhead High School.

He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1954 to 1963, earning the rank of master sergeant. He later served in the Air Force Reserves and worked at Westhampton Air Force Base from 1977 to 1996.

According to his family, Mr. Brown was an avid sportsman, who particularly enjoyed bowling, in which he earned scores of 299 and 298. He was a former MVP for the Riverhead and Central Islip softball leagues and held the ping pong championship title for five years at the Air Force Base in Tacoma, Wash.

Predeceased by his sons Jamaine and Keith and his brother, Govan, Mr. Brown is survived by his wife, Winnie (née Ayers); his mother; his children, Dakota, Jamie, Angela, Thermia, Sherry, Harold Jr. and Scott; his siblings, Shirley, Anna, Barbara, Nancy, Linda, Ruby, Judy, Mildred, Rose, Grace, Robert Jr., Freddie, James C., James R., Melton and Mert; 19 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

The family received visitors Dec. 2 at Reginald H. Tuthill Funeral Home in Riverhead. Funeral services were conducted Dec. 3 at Galilee Church of God in Christ in Riverhead by the Rev. Dr. Roy Pennon Sr. Interment followed at Calverton National Cemetery.