“My husband underwent extensive surgery that would have sidelined most people,” Vee Browne said. “But Joe was back flying his plane within weeks of his surgery.”
Joe Browne grew up in rural Tennessee as the second of four children. His parents Joe and Dot didn’t have much. Vee said Joe grew up poor but had no idea about that until he was nearly grown.
“Joe loved to read and his grandmother would buy him books instead of toys,” Vee Browne said.
Joe Browne was fascinated by history and especially World War II. He drove dune buggies and minibikes as a youngster and played football. In high school, he picked up a tennis racket after his mother ordered one from the Green Stamp catalog.
“Joe would hit balls outside of the local country club and taught himself the game after reading library books,” Vee said. “He was invited to play with some older members and glimpsed a lifestyle he had never known.”
His tennis skills improved to the point where he was able to earn a scholarship to play at a prep school. He graduated from Tennessee Tech University with a degree in industrial engineering.
“He moved to Connecticut and discovered life by the ocean,” Vee Browne said. “Joe bought a 22-foot sailboat and taught himself to sail.”
Joe Browne met his bride to be after he returned home to help his family. He was working as the head of quality control for a local automotive company and complained about a defective product. Vee Browne was a young engineer at the time and went with four others to address this issue.
“We were smitten from the start,” she said.
Vee Browne grew up in Grove City, Ohio and graduated from The Ohio State University with her own engineering degree. She lived in Evansville, Ind. and although the couple was five hours apart, it only took them a few months of talking long distance before they fell in love.
They relocated to Pittsburgh and lived together. They were married in 1989.
“Chasing career opportunities, or maybe bad weather, we relocated to Cleveland and then Detroit before settling in Vandalia 25 years ago,” Vee Browne said.
They had a son in 1994 and a daughter in 1996 and a beloved great dane dog who is now 13 years old.
Joe Browne not only loved his family, but also anything with a motor. He added a Corvette engine to a Porche and raced in the Cannonball Run for a few years before winning the Vintage Class. When he received his cancer diagnosis, he was working on his private pilot’s license and purchased his own plane.
Before cancer, the couple enjoyed a wonderful life together. Cancer treatments limited his activities, but Joe aimed to accomplish at least one thing each day.
“He needed something to look forward to that took his mind off the cancer,” Vee Browne said.
In October of 2024, Joe Browne reached his “stretch goal” and became a certified private pilot. His dream since the start of his cancer journey was to fly Vee to brunch in Indianapolis and they did just that.
“I will always remember that magical time,” Vee Browne said. “Joe was also able to fly my mom to breakfast and enjoy a few solo missions.”
On Jan. 13, 2025, Joe Browne died. The couple had agreed they wanted to be cremated, but for Vee Browne, just having her beloved husband’s ashes in an urn didn’t seem sufficient to honor the memory of the man who had defined so much of her life.
“I decided to have my husband’s remains made into parting stones,” Vee Browne said. “This is another option to ashes.”
Parting stones give people a more tangible way to remember their loved ones. The process results in about 40–80 stones, all unique with varying colors and shapes. Ashes can be made into stones at any time.
“To me having these stones made more sense than just having his ashes,” Vee Browne said. “I can look at them and hold them, and it just seemed more respectful of Joe’s life as it was.”
She took a portion of the stones to a place that was special to the couple and placed them at the edge of a lake. She has placed a few in other special places while some remain at home in Vandalia.
“This is kind of a replacement for a gravestone,” Vee said. “I can sit with the stone in my hand and to me, it’s more special than driving out to a cemetery. It feels more personal.”
About the Author
