The Rev. Paul R. Brown, 84, died at 4:45 a.m. Feb. 12, 2015, at Joint Township District Memorial Hospital, St. Marys.

He was born March 9, 1930, in Lancaster, to Eddie "EE" Brown and Helen Goddard Brown. He was one of six boys including a twin brother, Jim Brown. On Oct. 25, 1953, he married Barbara England Brown and had two children, Cheryl Lynn Lamb (Fritz), Brentwood, Calif., and James Richard "Rick" Brown (LyAnne), Galena. He had nine grandchildren, David Michael (deceased), Chris, Nathaniel, Ashleigh, Joshua, Eric, Jason, Christian and Arielle.

He graduated from Lancaster High School in 1948. While a student there, he was stage manager for high school drama productions and an honor student. He attended Kentucky Mountain Bible Institute and graduated from Circleville Bible College (Ohio Christian University). While at Circleville, he worked full time at Battelle in Columbus and pastored a church.

He earned a master's degree from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tenn., and a seminary degree from Capital University in Columbus.

He accepted Christ as his savior at the age of 9 while attending the Church of Christ in Christian Union, pastored by the Rev. Willard Cozad. He has been preaching the gospel since the age of 12 and held his first revival with his twin brother, Jim, at age 16 near Circleville.

While attending college in Circleville, he pastored Waterloo Church of Christ in Christian Union. After graduation from college, he served at Winchester Church of Christ in Christian Union. He pastored Nazarene churches in Independence, Mo.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

He served a four-church charge for the Evangelical United Brethren Church in Logan. In 1965, he was invited to pastor a new church in Upper Arlington called The Northwest United Methodist Church. He served the Northwest church from the time it met in Windermere Elementary School and then moved to its current location on Riverside Drive in Upper Arlington.

He also served Northwest, a wonderful and unique congregation of believers, until 1984. During his time at Northwest UMC, the congregation grew from 35 members in 1965 to well over 1,000 in attendance by the time he left in 1984. He then served St. Paul UMC in Celina and then Faith Community UMC in Xenia, until his retirement in 1994.

While at Faith Community in Xenia, he realized his life-long dream of pastoring with his identical twin brother, Jim, who died in 1994. Upon retirement, he and Barbara moved back to Celina and he was asked by the church district superintendent to take a temporary two-month assignment to help out a small country church, Landfair UMC, which was in between pastors.

Twenty years later, in 2013, he retired a second time from his ministry at Landfair UMC. During his ministry, he hosted four trips to the Holy Land and a 1984 trip to Oberamergau, Germany, for the 500-year anniversary of the Passion Play in that historic city.

He was a beloved pastor, husband, father and grandfather. He touched thousands of lives in his 65 years in the ministry.

Arrangements are being handled by the Tidd Family Funeral Home and Crematory, Hilliard.

A memorial service will held at a later date to be announced by the family.