James Brown

It’s possible he would greet you with a “honk!” James Barret Brown, 83, of Long Beach, CA passed away peacefully in his favorite recliner on Sept. 2, 2026. He was a loved husband, father, brother, uncle, grandfather, and friend.

Born in San Francisco Jan. 31, 1943, to Betty and Walter Brown, Jim, or “Goose,” excelled at San Marino public schools and Stanford University. He was a dedicated swimmer and water polo player at San Marino High School and Stanford. Perhaps this is where his nickname “Goose” originated. Jim was a champion backstroker and proved himself to be a galvanizing champion in the 100 yard backstroke at the Southern California Interscholastic Federation state championship; for the next 40 years his name was inscribed on an overhead honor board in the SMHS athletic center as the fastest backstroker at SMHS.

Jim was proud of his lifeguarding days on 64th Pl on Alamitos Bay, Long Beach, and memories of these summers of 1962-1966 were the source of endless entertaining stories. He then went on to study British history at UC Berkeley and UCLA, obtaining his doctorate in the field.

Jim then made his way to London to do research at the British Museum, becoming a forever Anglophile prior to teaching British history at Cal State Northridge. He left the classroom to run J.J. Brown Co, the family business that represented some of America’s oldest and most reputable hardware brands, even though he never held or used a tool outside of office hours. Jim was dedicated to keeping a youthful sense of humor, to helping anyone improve their swimming, and to learning, even if it was to do watercolors badly.

Jim is commemorated into the Eternal Guardians of the Sea by the Long Beach Lifeguards and survived by his wife Gail and her extended family, daughters Chelsea and Devon, brother Pete, sister-in-law Carol, nephew Andy, and grandchildren Jacob, Cathryn, and Brooklyn.