Former Clinton County Judge Carson Brown Dies at 86

Former Clinton County Judge Carson V. Brown, a 45-year member of the bench, died at age 86 on August 13. Judge Brown was well known to Lycoming County bar members for his 20 years on the Clinton County bench as well as his 25 years as a Senior Judge, where he sat in many jurisdictions, including Lycoming County.

Many will remember Judge Brown's low-key and even-handed approach to his work. He was a huge baseball fan, who would attend games in Williamsport, especially while the local team was associated with the Phillies, a team that he favored.

Read the full obituary:

Judge Carson V. Brown (retired), age 86, died Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024 in the UPMC Williamsport facility after a brief hospitalization.

Born May 29,1938 in Ligonier, Pa., he was the son of Victor L. and Sara Merringer Brown.

After graduating from Saxton Liberty High School, he was employed for three years by AMP, Inc. in Harrisburg. He then enrolled in Lock Haven State College, graduating in 1963 with a degree in education, with a major in English and a minor in Spanish. He graduated with honors from Dickinson School of Law in 1966. Dickinson also named him to its Woolsack Legal Honor Society.

Carson earned the third highest score on the Pennsylvania Bar Exam in 1966 out of more than 500 applicants.

While studying at LHSC, he met Carol Rockey of Lock Haven, and they were wed in 1961.

The family lived for three and a half years in Waynesboro, Pa. where Carson worked for the Ullman & Painter law firm. In 1970, he took the opportunity to return to Lock Haven as a partner in Saxton and Brown, Attorneys at Law, working side by side with his college friend, Richard Saxton.

Both of them loved baseball, and twice they attended the Phillies Phantasy Baseball Camp in Clearwater, Fla. They played in Citizens Bank Park, Home of the Phillies the year their camp Dream Team won.

The lifelong friends practiced law together for only a few years because Carson chose to take on another challenge. He ran for the elected position of Clinton County Judge, winning on both tickets, and was sworn in on Jan. 3, 1974.

He served as County Judge for 20 years, then as a Senior Judge for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for 25 years before retiring.

A member of Covenant United Methodist Church, he was also a member of the Texas and Blockhouse Hunting and Fishing Camp and enjoyed the outdoor pursuits of hunting, fishing, camping with family and friends, and vegetable gardening. During his years as County Judge, he was a member of the Lafayette Lodge #199 Free and Accepted Masons in Lock Haven and the Lions Club of Lock Haven which he served as president.

Surviving are his wife; two sons, Dr. Carson V. (Sally) Brown II and Dr. Jason D. (Leslie) Brown, both of Lock Haven; four grandchildren Madison (Matt Galasso) of Philadelphia, Natalie, Meredith and Andrew, all of Lock Haven; two step-grandchildren, Jessica Baum and Michael Muzzin, both of Delaware; and a brother, Norman Ray Brown of Atlantic Beach, Fla.

He was preceded in death by his parents, one brother, and three sisters.