MANY members of the Cumbrian farming community were saddened to hear of the death at the age of 64 of Alan Brown, of Kirkby Stephen, and formerly of Great Asby, who had put up a brave and determined fight against cancer.

He was the eldest son of the late Gilbert and Charlotte Brown and had a younger brother, Thomas, who died in April, 2007. Born at Ivy House, Great Asby, he moved soon after with his parents to Town Head, Great Asby, where they had a farm.

He attended Great Asby Endowed School and then Appleby Grammar School, and it was during his time at the latter that he had private piano lessons from teacher Richard Calder. Shortly before he died, Mr. Brown sent a card to Mr. Calder on his 100th birthday and in this he wrote how thankful he was that he had learned to play the piano.

Mr. Brown went on to play the organ at Catherine Holme Methodist Chapel up until October, 2002, when he moved to live at Kirkby Stephen.

Before Alan had left school the family moved to farm at Catherine Holme, and on leaving school he became a farmer, shortly to be joined by his brother, Thomas. The farm was a dairy and sheep enterprise.

In 1970 Mr. Brown married Marjorie Dent, a farmer’s daughter from Bolton, near Appleby, and for four years they lived at Town Head, where their eldest son, Mark, spent the first 19 months of life. The family subsequently moved into a new bungalow at Catherine Holme. The couple had two further sons, Andrew and Matthew. Mr. Brown and his brother farmed in partnership until Asby Hall, Great Asby, came up for sale in 1983 and was purchased by Alan.

After Mr. Brown moved his family to Asby Hall but before he became fully established there he took on several part-time jobs. He had previously passed the test needed to drive heavy goods vehicles, and so led straw for local farmers. In the autumn he travelled all over the country leading sheep and cattle away from the marts at Lazonby, Penrith and Kirkby Stephen, driving for McWhirters, of Nateby. Other jobs he took on were milk recording, fencing, hedging and walling.

He became very keen on breeding Mule gimmer lambs and enjoyed exhibiting these at local shows and sales, with some success. A member of the Kirkby Stephen branch of the North of England Mule Sheep Association, he spent time at shows in southern England promoting the breed, meeting many farmers who became close friends.

This year, because of his poor health, he was only able to take a small role in the lambing at Asby Hall.

Mr. Brown also bred Limousin and Belgian Blue cross suckler calves, and often won prizes with them at the Kirkby Stephen sales. One of his greatest successes was in November, 2007. His calves were sold to farmers from all corners of Britain and it always gave him satisfaction if they went on to do well at shows for their new owners.

One suckler did well for Andrew Geary, of Milton Keynes, who, on hearing of Mr. Brown’s death, asked if he could speak at the funeral, which was held at Kirkby Stephen Methodist Church. The heading he chose for his words was “Farming, Family and Faith”, which summed Mr. Brown up very well. He had a strong Christian faith and had been a local Methodist preacher since 1978.

After he and Marjorie moved to Kirkby Stephen, Mr. Brown used to travel back to work at Asby Hall, where his two eldest sons were taking over the running of the farm.

A keen supporter of Carlisle United Football Club, in his younger days he played for Ormside in the Waitby Cup and was pleased when all three sons played in the same competition for Great Asby. Mr. Brown was always very helpful and willing to give advice to those who asked. He served on Great Asby Parish Council and went on to become its chairman.

He is survived by his wife Marjorie, sons Mark and Andrew, both of Great Asby, and Matthew, of Sedbergh. He had four grandchildren, Lucy, Naomi, Adam and Bethany.