Chester “Chet” Hurst Brower, Jr, 82, died of complications related to a fall on May 28, 2018 in Hampton, VA.  He was born Nov. 30, 1935 in Yonkers, NY to Chester H. Brower, Sr. and Agnes Beulah Dwyer Brower.  He joined the US Navy at 18 and proudly served 35 years in Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War and other ports around the world before retiring in 1988 as a Master Chief Petty Officer. He continued to serve post-retirement as a welder at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. He was a member of the VFW, American Legion, the Loyal Order of the Moose and the Enlisted Men’s Association. At 17, he auditioned for the Lawrence Welk Show but his family convinced him to join the Navy. He had a good voice and loved singing throughout his lifetime, as well as golfing and fishing.

In 1981, he married Juanita Rosalee Franklin Armstrong aboard the USS Connelly, docked in Norfolk, VA. She preceded him in death, along with his parents; his siblings, Dolores Clara Brower Jones of Tucson, AZ, Dorothy Brower Gorman of NY and Richard Dennis Brower of NY and stepdaughter, Shirley Jean Armstrong Stapleton of SC.

Numerous friends, five stepchildren, nephews and a niece mourn his passing: James Armstrong, Patricia Armstrong, Vickie Armstrong Smith and Cindy Armstrong Zens, all of VA; Terry Armstrong Divers of TX; Jim Jones Shorten of AZ; Brian Jones of GA and Donna Turner of NY.

A Celebration of Life, with Military Honors, will be held at the West Hampton Baptist Church, 631 Aberdeen Rd., Hampton, VA 23661 on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at 11 am. Please use the back parking lot door.  Burial will be at a later date at the Albert G. Horton Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Suffolk, VA. Memorial donations may be made to West Hampton Baptist Church.

Cremation Society of Virginia assisted the family with arrangements.