Ian "Brownie" Brown has left a legacy that will endure, Bowls Southland board chairman Steve Sanders says.
Speaking at Mr Brown’s funeral on February 11, Mr Sanders said Mr Brown’s playing achievements were impressive but these were only part of his contribution to the sport.
"He gave back to bowls more than most of us will ever truly appreciate.
"Every community has its legends, every sport has its greats but only a few leave a legacy that lasts long after they’re gone."
Mr Brown was one of those, Mr Sanders said.
"He changed bowls in Southland."
Mr Brown won nine Southland Open Men’s titles.
His first victory, after a few misses, was the 1996/97 open men’s pairs.
"That was Brownie in a nutshell — determined, gritty, and never willing to stop until he got there."
He was a Southland representative for more than 20 years and served as Southland selector from 2016 to 2021.
"During this time, he helped guide the team to a moment of history — Southland’s first-ever national intercentre title in 57 years."
He was also the open women’s selector from 2024 to 2026.
Mr Brown played a critical role as Bowls Southland Development Programme facilitator since 2022.
"Every player he helped, every team he guided, every bowler he encouraged, they all carry a piece of Brownie with them," Mr Sanders said.
His expertise reached even further when he worked alongside Waverley Bowling Club member Julie O’Connell as a coach and coaching adviser for the Bowls New Zealand Para team during the 2024 transtasman series.
"He built people.
"He built teams.
"He built belief."
Mr Brown had a way of making people feel welcome and had time for anyone who wanted to learn.
"He had a laugh that could fill a room, and a sense of humour that could break tension on even the toughest days."
His wife Jan Stevenson-Brown said she was surprised to find how far-reaching her husband’s influence had been.
"He was always winning things and he was always away at bowls, but I was kind of shocked at how well known and how well respected he was within the bowling."
He was a very humble man despite his achievements, she said.
In his younger days he enjoyed playing many sports including rugby and tennis and represented Southland at badminton.
He first started playing bowls at the North End club in 1988 when a workmate invited him to play.
Mr Brown came from a farming background.
He was born in Otautau and educated in Heriot and Otara before secondary schooling in Invercargill and Oamaru.
After he left school he worked on farms, completed a carpet and tile laying apprenticeship and later trained as a prison officer.
He worked at Invercargill Prison for 17 years before the couple opened the Beds R Us store in Invercargill.
"He certainly went out of his way to help his customers, and he had a very good reputation in town with the business."
Fourteen years later he retired.
The couple met in 1982 when she was 19 years old.
Mr Brown bought the house beside the one she and her parents lived in.
Her mother, being the "eternal matchmaker", invited Mr Brown in for coffee. "It was love at first sight."
They married a year later.
The couple have two children and three grandchildren.
She would describe him as a "good Southern man who would go out of his way to help others".
"He did show great sportsmanship, and he encouraged this in his teams and his coaching and with his fellow bowlers.
"His family, friends, and his passion for the sport of bowls were his great joys of life."— Sandy Eggleston
