Page 33 - Senior Link Magazine Winter 2018- Online Magazine

VIETNAM WAr
with Nat Williams to the present
After returning to Kathy Rollo.
the States, Brown
was assigned to Tom Brown is like an Energizer
Ft. Campbell, Bunny. He never quits serving and encouraging others.
Kentucky, and his If you see him in the school hallways, he will always
wife Rosemary have a positive comment or a corny joke as well as a
joined him there. slight grin. There are few people who have touched
When Martin so many lives. What an honor it is to know a man who
Luther King, Jr. has served his country and others, and is still going . . .
was assassinated,
Tom’s troop
completed riot Dad and Mom met in study hall at Plainview HS.
training to He was a senior and she was a sophomore. They
prepare to be dated for three years and married August 15, 1964.
back-up troops They had a lot in common and found it easy to talk
for any hot spots to each other. They have stored up many happy
of rioters. That memories in their 54 years together. A few ups
remained his assignment until he left the service in and downs have kept things interesting, and they
1968. While serving in the Army, Brown received wouldn’t have it any other way.
three Army Service Ribbons: Accommodation, Good
Conduct, and Combat Infantryman. Tom reflects that ~Angela Russell
his experiences in the Army “matured me and made
me realize that I could do a lot of things that I didn’t
think I could.” In 1997, he returned to Vietnam and
visited some of the villages where he had served; he
was delighted to find six people who remembered him.

In 1969, Tom Brown began his second career by
serving in Lubbock as an educator. He was a student
teacher at O.L. Slaton, accepting a full-time teaching
position there where he taught Spanish for three
years. His next opportunity was at Dunbar, where
he served as a vocational counselor for six years and
continued his tenure there as an assistant principal
for six and a half years. Tom was moved to the
Personnel Department at the LISD Central Office for
three and a half years. Since his desire was to help
students succeed, he was assigned a position serving
“At Risk Dropouts”, assisting students in that capacity
for four years. This led Brown to create Matthews
Alternative High School that continues today. Its
mission statement is “to provide an individualized and
inspirational approach to learning in a diverse, safe
and nurturing environment.” He served as principal
there for 11 years, and after 36 years in Lubbock ISD,
he “officially” retired in 2005. However, he was asked
to return to Lubbock ISD to serve in special leadership
roles at Central Office, Hutchison, Atkins, O.L. Slaton,
and Project Intercept. His current title is “Transition
Specialist” at Priority Intervention Academy. So far,
Tom has served under ten superintendents, beginning

Lubbock Senior Link 33