Mr. Ellis Ray Brown, Sr., 78, of 837 Sunnybrook Lane, Hartwell, died Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at his home.

Born on August 16, 1933 in Luxora, AR, he was the son of the late Franklin Green Brown and Edith Weaver Dixon.He was a senior law partner with Finch McCranie, a graduate of Georgia State University and a graduate of John Marshall University Law School, where he was a member of Nu Beta Epsilon.He was also a member of Jones Memorial United Methodist Church in Forest Park, GA.Mr. Brown was a member of the Georgia Bar Association, Clayton County and American Bar Associations; The Association of Trial Lawyers of America; Georgia Trial Lawyers Association. Mr. Brown practiced law in the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth and Eleventh Circuits; U.S. Court of Military Appeals and U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia; U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia.Mr. Brown was also a US Army Veteran.

Survivors include his wife, Lona Rooks Brown; two sons: Peter Brown and his wife, Sandra, of Hartwell, and Ellis Ray Brown, Jr. of Covington; one daughter: Sandra Ivey of Social Circle; two brothers; five sisters; six grandchildren: Lesley, Katelyn, Logan, and Chandler Brown, Ashleigh Ivey, and Taylor Brown; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents.

Funeral services will be held Friday, December 30, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. in the Chapel of the Strickland Funeral Home of Hartwell. Entombment will follow in the Brown Family Mausoleum.

The body is at the Strickland Funeral Home of Hartwell where the family will receive friends from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Thursday.The family is at the home.Floral arrangements are optional and special memorials may be made out to the charity of one's choice.

The Strickland Funeral Home of Hartwell is in charge of all arrangements.On-line condolences can be sent to the family at www.stricklandfh.com.