John W. “Jack” Brand, Jr.

Memorial services for John W. “Jack” Brand, Jr., 83, of Lawrence, will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, May 22, 2015 at Plymouth Congregational Church in Lawrence. Jack passed away at his home on Tuesday, May 12, 2015. He was born April 17, 1932 in Winfield, Kansas to John W. Brand and Catharine Snyder Brand. He graduated from Lawrence High School in 1950 and from the University of Kansas in 1954, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity and was the outstanding Navy ROTC student. He served three years in the Navy and returned to KU Law School in 1957, graduating in 1959. He graduated from the law school Order of the Coif and was class president and Editor-in-Chief of the Kansas Law Review.

While practicing law for 50 years at Stevens & Brand in Lawrence, he served as President of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, the United Way, the Douglas County Bar Association, the Lawrence Rotary Club, and KU Law Society. He received the Rotary Paul Harris Fellowship & Kansas Bar Association Distinguished Service Award. He recently received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the KU Law School.

He was a member of Plymouth Congregational Church for over 50 years where he served as head usher for 10 years, served as moderator, and served on the Board of Trustees and the Endowment Board.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years Barbara and three daughters, Becky Meschke and husband Jay, Overland Park, Kansas; Kelly Pettit and husband Mike, Irvine, California; and Betsy Six and husband Steve of Lawrence. Also surviving are eleven grandchildren, David, Andrew, and Laura Meschke; Jordan, Corey, Madison, and Quinn Pettit; and Emily, Sam, Henry, and Will Six. He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Beverly Brand Anderson.

The family suggests memorials in his name to the Alzheimer’s Association, Visiting Nurses Association, Plymouth Congregational Church, or a charity of the giver’s choice and may be sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary.