William Theodore (Ted) Brown, Jr., J.D., an adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee, died July 3, 2018 at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville following a short illness. He was 69 years old.He lived in Knoxville, Tennessee and was Senior Lecturer in the U.T. Department of Political Science.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, on June 7, 1949, Brown grew up in Etowah, Tennessee and graduated as the first Valedictorian of Central High School of McMinn County in 1967. Mr. Brown graduated summa cum laude from UT in 1971 with a Bachelors Degree in History and obtained a J.D., in 1978 at Vanderbilt University School of Law. Brown was a Veteran of The United States Air Force.

He practiced law in Atlanta for twenty-five years, joining Kirkpatrick and Cody in its creditor's rights practice. Later he joined Long, Aldrich, and Norman in its financial restructuring practice. Brown then returned to Knoxville in 2006 to begin his teaching career. At U.T. he taught Constitutional Law, Civil Rights and Liberties, Judicial Process, Tennessee Government, and Law in American Society. He also was Adjunct Professor of Law in American Legal History at the University of Tennessee's College of Law.

Brown is the author of "The Formative Period in the History of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, 1796-1835," inA History of the Tennessee Supreme Court(University of Tennessee Press, 2002), sponsored by the Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society, which was awarded the Tennessee Book Award by the Tennessee Historical Commission and the Tennessee Library Association as the most outstanding book on Tennessee history published during the year 2002.

Brown authored the entry for John Catron, Tennessee Supreme Court Justice and U.S. Supreme Court Justice, inThe New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Law and Politics, vol. 11 (University of North Carolina Press, 2008), and his book review of Matthew Warshauer'sAndrew Jackson and the Politics of Martial Law: Nationalism, Civil Liberties, and Partisanship(University of Tennessee Press 2006) was published in the Winter 2008 number ofThe Tennessee Historical Quarterly. He contributed biographical profiles of Tennessee Supreme Court Justice William J. Harbison, early Tennessee jurists John McNairy and John Overton, and U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee for inclusion in the Tennessee Historical Society'sTennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture(1998). He was co-editor, with Professor James W. Ely, Jr. of the Vanderbilt University School of Law, ofLegal Papers of Andrew Jackson(University of Tennessee Press, 1987) and the author of "The Tennessee County Courts under the North Carolina and Territorial Governments: The Davidson County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, 1783-1796, as a Case Study," 32Vanderbilt Law Review349 (1979).

As an undergraduate student at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Brown organized and catalogued Senator Kefauver's papers and since has written several articles about Senator Kefauver, the law, and Tennessee political and legal history. He was at work on a book based on his lecture, "Estes Kefauver and Political Leadership," which was delivered as the Eighth Annual Estes Kefauver Scholars Lecture at Hiwassee College in Madisonville, Tennessee, in February of 1995. His interview discussing Senator Kefauver's renowned investigation of organized crime was included in the A & E documentary "Las Vegas and the Power of Money," which aired in 2002.

Brown served as a member of the U.S. Senate staff of U.S. Senator Albert Gore, Sr., 1969-1970, and Mrs. Gore (Pauline) strongly encouraged him to pursue a law degree at Vanderbilt. Senator and Mrs. Gore were mentors to Ted.

He was the son of the late William Theodore Brown, Sr., DDS, and Aileen Collins Brown of Etowah, TN. He is survived by a close knit family. He is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Charles David Brown, DDS (Debbie), niece Mary Beth Bain (Jerreth), nephew Matthew Brown (Catie), great nephew David Spencer Brown, great niece Landrie Collins Bain, special friends, Bob Allen, Jim and Susan Spratt, James Spratt, and Matthew and Molly Moye, as well as numerous friends, colleagues, and admiring students who stayed in touch through the years.

The family will assemble at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday July7, 2018 at the funeral home and proceed to Green Hill Cemetery for a 10:00 a.m. graveside service. The Rev. Rebecca A. Reed will be officiating.

Pallbearers will be Matthew Brown, Jerreth Bain, Bob Allen, Bruce Collins, Jim Spratt, and James Spratt. Bob, Bill, Jack, Jerry, and Wayne Collins and Clayton Brewer will serve as Honorary Pallbearers.

Family will receive friends from 5:00 to 7:00p.m. at the funeral home on Friday July 6, 2018.