Kim Brown

Kim Brown, devoted husband and father and a lifelong photographer who taught at Texas Tech University and South Plains College, passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in Ransom Canyon, Texas, on May 8, 2025; he was 74. Kim was a humble man who would only want you to know that he loved his family and Christ Jesus.  His family, near and far, want you to know the rest of the story.

Known across the South Plains as a gifted artist, Kim captured the southwest landscape in photographs of clouds that softly drifted across the vast sky and nature in all of its various forms. He could spot the latent beauty in ordinary settings and uncover it patiently as his images slowly developed into hand-printed black and white pictures, and he taught others to do the same.  Whether behind the counter at Armadillo Camera, where he worked for 20 years, or in front of a classroom, Kim shared every aspect of fine art photography, especially how to “let the light draw the form.” A teacher at heart, Kim shared his gifts and knowledge generously with students and customers alike. As a multi-talented man, Kim also enjoyed the arts of drawing, ceramics, and woodworking.

Kim was born Finley Kimball Brown in Lubbock in October 1950 to Robert P. and Lillian Ruth Brown.  He grew up in Lubbock and graduated from Coronado High School in 1969. As a young boy, Kim was curious about how mechanical devices worked, and he would regularly dismantle and reassemble toys, clocks, radios, and—remarkably—a neighbor’s broken doorbell. During his school years, Kim acquired many friends, but five of them bonded into a tight-knit group that remained close across the span of 60-plus years, seeing each other regularly, sharing life and telling funny stories of their crazy youthful antics and laughing together like it happened yesterday. The number of those five is now diminished to a remaining two, but the brotherly love and faith they share will hold them together for eternity.

Kim attended the University of Southern Mississippi, Texas Tech University and the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California. Returning to Lubbock in the 1970’s, he began working at Armadillo Camera while continuing his career as an artist and photographer. In the days before smartphones and digital photography, Kim combined his love of photography and machines and became a Certified Camera Repairman, once completely disassembling a film camera in order to soak it and wash away the owners’ spilled Coke, and then reassembling it to work perfectly once again. In the early 2000’s Kim became an adjunct-teacher of photography at South Plains College in Levelland and Texas Tech University before becoming the Photography Lab Manager at Texas Tech University in 2008, and retiring in 2020.

In 1980, Kim started dating Mary Kline Campbell. Mary had been the female “honorary” member of the “group of friends” for the previous ten years. They married in June 1981.  Kim and Mary were inseparable, and raised two daughters in a loving Christian home, first in Lubbock, then later in Ransom Canyon where they have lived for 35 years.  Kim’s lifelong gift for resourcefulness shows throughout their home in his landscaping skills, his darkroom, and even the golf-bag he made from an old pair of blue jeans.  Kim and Mary enjoyed road trips around the U.S., often stopping to peer through the camera lens at stone courthouses, windswept cotton fields, churches, and empty county roads that narrowed to a single point on the horizon. The journey mattered to them more than the destination and both daughters quickly learned the art of entertaining themselves during long hours in the car and also gained an appreciation of the unique beauty of the empty prairie or the soaring mountains.

Kim was a devout Christ-follower who tried to live his faith and emulate the teachings of Christ. Especially since retirement, he and Mary daily began their mornings reading their Bibles together in the still calm of the West Texas sunrise.  On Easter and Christmas, he was reliably the first to the family chat group celebrating the true meaning of the day.  In encouraging others to seek Christ, he made wise men of us all. The truth of God’s word and a deep desire to understand the love and grace of Christ was the driving passion of his life.  He also had a deep love for his Jewish friends and stayed in communication with them, sharing friendship and faith. Kim and Mary have also enjoyed getting to know the college students at their church and sharing a weekly Bible study with them.

Kim was preceded in death by his parents and an older sister who died in infancy.  He is survived by his wife, Mary; daughters Mariél Morgan of Oklahoma City and Kendra Campbell-Borja (César) of Miami Shores, Florida; grandsons Kai and Ronan and granddaughter Niah Borja; sister Stephanie Lucas of Aurora, Colorado; cousin Kay Clucas of Rockwall, Texas; two nieces, one grandnephew and two grandnieces; extended family and a cohort of lifelong friends.

Memorials in celebration of Kim’s life may be made to the Youth Ministries of Westminster Presbyterian Church, Lubbock, Texas; Campus Crusade for Christ; or the Navigators.

To send flowers to the family or place a tree in memory of Kim Brown, please visit our Tribute Store.