Harley Leroy Brown, 72, of Harlem died Nov. 15, 2007, at a Fort Belknap medical facility of natural causes.
A funeral service was scheduled at 11 a.m. today at the Harlem High School Gymnasium. The burial was to follow the service at the Harlem Cemetery, with a fellowship reception at the Harlem Baptist Church following the burial. Harley was born Sept. 14, 1935, to Elias and Virgie (Perry) Brown in Sulphur, Okla. He is an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Tribe. He attended schools in Sulphur and also the Chilocco Indian School. He served in the U.S. Navy from January 1955 through December 1959. He served aboard the USS Sierra, based at Norfolk, Va. His deployment cruises were in the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and European waters. He was honorably discharged Dec. 14, 1959. While in the service he met and married Rita DiMartino in Naples, Italy. To this union three children were born Virgie Ann, Roy, and Susan Brown. The couple later divorced. After discharge he moved to California to seek employment. In 1963 he met Caroline Mount, from Hays. The couple later married and has two children, Ramona and Sharon Brown. Harley and Caroline have been married for 44 years and lived in Montana 34 years. In May 1970 Harley moved his family to Fort Belknap where he began employment as a police officer and later as police chief until October 1973. In 1973 he moved his family to Harlem and began working for the Harlem Police Department. In June 1974, Murdo Maclain, Blaine County sheriff, recruited him as a deputy sheriff. He remained with the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office until June 1999, when he retired after suffering a stroke. In addition to his many years of law enforcement he was elected to the Harlem School Board, School District No. 12, and served two terms in the 1980s. Harley is survived by his wife, Caroline Brown of Harlem; daughters Virgie Ann Brown of Minneapolis, Minn., Susan (Gordon) Messerly of Billings, Ramona (Curtis) Horn of Fort Belknap, Sharon (Chris) Brown of Alamogordo, N.M.; son Roy Brown of Tucson, Ariz; 10 grandchildren; four greatgrandchildren; brother Paul (Pat) Brown of Hayward, Calif; sisters Juanita (Gene) Underwood and Sue (Sam) Underwood, both of Sulphur; Madeline (Paul) Reed of Denton, Texas; Anna Postoak of Ardmore, Okla.; numerous nieces and nephews. Services are under the direction of Edwards Funeral Home in Chinook.
