06/11/2026
We will be closed on Saturday, June 13, 2026, as we celebrate the remarkable life and enduring legacy of Dr. Joseph “Joe” Milroy Brown, founder of Campus Book Mart.
Our beloved Dr. Joseph “Joe” Milroy Brown entered into Heaven on May 15, 2026, leaving behind a legacy of intellectual curiosity, entrepreneurial vision, steadfast faith, and deep devotion to his family. He was 98 years old.
Joe was born in Gatewood, West Virginia, on January 8, 1928. Due to a doctor’s clerical error, his birth certificate listed January 9, a mistake Joe joyfully embraced by celebrating his birthday across both days for the rest of his life. A true child prodigy with a photographic memory, he graduated from high school at just 15 years old. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University before moving to Lafayette, Indiana, where he completed both his master’s degree and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, mechanics, and mathematics at Purdue University. He also spent a semester at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, an experience he enjoyed despite joking that it was entirely too cold for his liking.
From an early age, Joe was fascinated by the way things worked. While in the first grade, he took apart his wristwatch, scattered the pieces across his school desk, and amazingly reassembled it in perfect working condition. As a young boy, he disassembled an entire automobile and put it back together flawlessly. This brilliant mechanical mind launched a remarkable career in California, where he worked on the design of aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft, culminating in the development of an orbiting telescope satellite for McDonnell Douglas and The Aerospace Corporation. His innovative ideas led to high-level research contracts, including work alongside NASA on the Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars”) program and advanced aerospace research for the United States government.
Joe spent 19 years in aerospace design and physics research as an engineer, physicist, and manager before joining Mississippi State University, where he taught mechanics, mechanical design, and thermodynamics for 21 years. Even after retirement, his passion for learning never waned. He spent several years studying biology and, in 2008, published The Chemistry and Mechanics of Human Aging.
It was during his early years in Los Angeles that Joe met the absolute love of his life, Jimmie Marie Dikeman. Spotting her, then an American Airlines flight attendant, outside her apartment, Joe instantly knew she was the woman he would marry. They were wed on January 19, 1952, beginning a beautiful love story that endured for seven decades until Jimmie’s passing in January 2022.
In 1970, Joe moved his family to Starkville, Mississippi, to accept a position as a professor of mechanical engineering at Mississippi State University. An insatiable thinker, writer, and researcher, he authored nearly 30 books spanning physics, mechanics, engineering, and human aging. He took immense pride in knowing that many of his books continue to be used in classrooms to educate students at Mississippi State University today. His most notable work, published in 2015, The Mechanical Theory of Everything, presented his lifelong theories about the fundamental structure of the universe.
Beyond the classroom, Joe helped change the landscape of Mississippi college towns. Noticing Starkville lacked a bookstore, he founded the first Book Mart in downtown Starkville in 1972 for Jimmie to operate. Jimmie had originally envisioned opening a dress shop but happily redirected her efforts toward finding a home for Joe’s ever-growing collection of books. What began as a single bookstore blossomed into a thriving corporation serving students at Mississippi State University, The University of Mississippi, and The University of Southern Mississippi. Throughout his decades in business, Joe deeply cherished every employee who worked at Campus Book Mart, always viewing them as an extension of his own family.
For decades, student employees, friends, and loved ones knew that the true heart of Campus Book Mart was down the stairs in Dr. Brown’s Starkville office. There, behind a grand mahogany desk surrounded by his diplomas, published books, and extensive collection of model cars, he shared his infectious passion for learning with anyone fortunate enough to visit. He continued taking college courses into his 80s, drove his signature candy-apple red Cadillac across the state to visit his stores, and loved nothing more than spending time with family and friends. Together with his children, who went on to own and operate beloved local businesses including Book Mart and Café, Shep’s Cleaners, and Campus Book Mart, Dr. Brown helped build a lasting family business legacy in the town he proudly called home.
Equally central to Joe’s life was his profound devotion to his faith. He dedicated 57 years of service to First Presbyterian Church in Starkville, serving as a devoted member, deacon, elder, property chairman, and faithful servant to his congregation.
Dr. Brown was preceded in death by his parents, Paul Alexander Brown and Mary Lou Fox Brown; his cherished wife, Jimmie Marie Dikeman Brown; and his siblings, Paul Jerry Brown and Mary Jane Songer.
He leaves behind a loving family who will forever miss his joyous smile, brilliant wit, and boundless curiosity: his son, Paul Alexander Brown (Kathy); his daughters, Stephanie Baker, Barbara Foster (Jeff), and Carolyn Abadie (Ben); seven grandchildren, Rob Baker (Katie), Caroline Smith (Hal), Joey Brown (Jackie), Taylor Gough (Adam), Anna-Marie Nickels (Drew), Doris Helton (Nick), and John Foster (Emily); and eight great-grandchildren, Otho, Sarah Hollis, Liza, Blakely Kate, John Paul, Mary Harold, Natalie, and Augustus.
Visitation will be held Saturday, June 13, from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Starkville. A private family service will follow, with Reverend Dean Franklin officiating.
