A Life Story

Joseph Emerson Brown Harper, "Brown or Jeb" to those who knew and loved him, died on June 11, 2026, in Peachtree City, Georgia. He was 50. Born March 11, 1976, at St. Joseph's Hospital in Savannah, Georgia, Brown spent his early years growing up in downtown Savannah, the city that shaped his lifelong love of Lowcountry history. When his mother remarried Sam Zemurray, the family moved out to Honey Ridge Plantation, where Brown grew up alongside the registered Polled Hereford cattle the family was known for. He began working there as a boy and eventually rose to Sales Manager of the family business, an upbringing on the land that gave him a work ethic and an abiding love of Georgia. Brown began his schooling at Savannah Country Day School before heading north to the Fay School in Massachusetts and Virginia Episcopal School. He then came home to graduate from Savannah Country Day School with the Class of 1994, where he had many lifelong friends. He later pursued his studies at the University of Mississippi and Armstrong State University, with a Marine Option in Naval ROTC and a passion for military history and national security. But it was aviation that became the great calling of his life. A FAA Certified Flight Instructor with both helicopter and airplane ratings, Brown spent his career in the cockpit and, just as importantly, teaching others to fly. He instructed at Lanier Flight Center and Blue Ridge Helicopters, trained Army National Guard pilots, flew tours over metro Atlanta, taught EASA and FAA students, and most recently flew with Prestige Helicopters. He had a special gift for the students others had given up on, the ones called "un-teachable," and he took quiet pride in finding the path that got each of them across the finish line. Above all, Brown was a devoted steward of military aviation history. As a lifetime volunteer pilot and safety crew chief with the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation, he flew the UH-1H "Huey." He served the Commemorative Air Force's Airbase Georgia, and as an assistant project manager he helped restore the "City of Savannah" B-17G Flying Fortress at the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force. He trained in the legendary T-6 Texan, the "Pilot Maker," and could speak with reverence about the OH-6 and the men who flew before him. Before all of that, he served his community as a certified interpretive guide with the Coastal Heritage Society, bringing Savannah's history to life at Old Fort Jackson and beyond. When he wasn't flying, Brown loved Highlands, North Carolina, where he spent treasured time at his grandparents' place, and he cherished his cousins and lifelong childhood friends, whose company and adventures brought him great joy throughout his life. Brown was preceded in death by his mother, Patricia "Pat" Watson Zemurray, and his stepfather, Samuel “Sam” Zemurray III. He is survived by his father, Hugh Donnett “Don” Harper, his beloved cousins, and a wide circle of extended family, fellow aviators, and friends across Georgia who will remember his devotion to flight, to history, and to country. Graveside Service will be held on Friday, June 26th at 10am. Greenwich Cemetery - Section 1, Block S, Lot 33, Space 1 High Flight by John Gillespie Magee Jr. Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds, and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there, I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless halls of air. Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or even eagle flew And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand, and touched the face of God. Blue skies and tailwinds, Brown. The pattern is yours now, and the sky is wide open. Until we meet again.