Jimmy Browne, owner of Lakewood and Natanis Golf Clubs passed away at home, of a heart attack early on Labor Day morning. He was 56 years old.

A memorial service for Jim will be held on Friday morning at 10 am at the Riverside Congregational Church in Vassalboro. A reception will be held at Natanis following. Condolences may be sent to natanis@gwi.net .

Jim Browne Obituary

VASSALBORO -- James H. Browne, 56, of Vassalboro died of a heart attack at his home early Monday morning, Sept. 5, 2005.

Jim was born on Oct. 1, 1948, the son of Paul E. and Lucy (Cobb) Browne. He was raised in Vassalboro, graduated from Hall-Dale High School in 1967, Kents Hills School in 1968 and the University of Maine in 1972. Jim married Barbara Sands in 1972 and is the father of Laurie, Kevin, and Sarah Browne. A gifted athlete, he excelled at many sports throughout his life and coached baseball in Vassalboro, both in the Community Rec Program and CB Lord School. He coached PAL basketball and football in Waterville. Jim passed on his love of sports to all his children and he became an active member of numerous Waterville High School Sports Boosters and was an enthusiastic supporter of Colby field hockey from 1998 to 2001. There is still a sign over his desk from one of his children that says, "My Coach Forever."

Jim was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity, the Maine Golf Course Superintendents Association, the Maine State Golf Association, the Riverside Congregational Church in Vassalboro where he served as a trustee and was a corporator at Skowhegan Savings Bank. Jim developed a reverence for nature and the outdoors as a child, first while working on the family farm and then helping his father build the first nine holes of Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro. Jim spent his working life in the golf industry, starting at Waterville Country Club, where he was the course superintendent for 14 years and continuing as owner of Lakewood Golf Course with his late brother, Bob. At Lakewood, Jim developed a second nine holes and had plans to redo some of the original holes this winter. Jim was always looking to improve the course. At one time he simultaneously ran Lakewood, Moose River in Jackman, and what is now Loon Cove in Skowhegan, while also being involved at Pine Ridge in Waterville and Natanis. Along with Bob, Jim was instrumental in the construction of each additional nine holes at Natanis. After the loss of his brother and partner, Bob, two years ago, he kept both Lakewood and Natanis on an even keel with the tenacity and commitment to hard work for which he was known. Jim was one of the fortunate ones who loved his work and it showed.

Jim typically had a smile on his face and had a happy spirit. He had a way of making most things fun. He will be sorely missed by fellow workers and golfers as well as his family and friends.

He was predeceased by his parents and his brother and partner, Robert Cobb Browne.

He is survived by his wife, Barbara; his daughters, Laurie E. Browne of San Francisco and Sarah C. Browne of Monrovia, Calif.; and his son, Kevin James Browne and his fiancée, Margaret Johnston, of Madison. Jim is also survived by his sisters and brothers, Margaret Bradbury of Nobleboro and Jeff Bradbury of Damariscotta, Elizabeth Wiltshire and her husband, Wayne, of Vassalboro, William Browne and his wife, Carolyn, of Vassalboro, his sister-in-law, Julie Browne, Paul Browne and his wife, Dieke, of Newton, Mass., and Richard Browne and his wife, Shirley, of Vassalboro, his brother-in-law Robert Sands and his wife, Sue Firlotte, of Winthrop, and his sister-in-law Cathy St. Pierre of Yarmouth; many nieces and nephews and grandnieces and nephews; and Red.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 9, at the Riverside Congregational Church in Vassalboro. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Jim's memory to the American Heart Association New England Affiliate, 20 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701-4688, or the Riverside Congregational Church, c/o Joe Dee, Haywood Street, Farmingdale, ME 04344.

Arrangements under the care of Staples Funeral Home, Gardiner.