Guston Hassell Browning

Rev. Dr. Guston Browning, 97, died April 24, 2024. He was a resident of Austin, Texas. A memorial service will be held at Bethany United Methodist Church, Austin on May 15 at 2 pm. Private burial of cremains will be at Providence Cemetery, Jacksonville, TX.

A 1944 Honor Graduate of Carthage, TX High School, he volunteered for the U.S. Army 10 days after “D-Day” in World War II and served 2 ½ years.

After graduation with High Honors and Phi Beta Kappa from UT-Austin in 1949, he worked in Houston 2 years as a Rehabilitation Counselor for the State Commission for the Blind before enrolling in Perkins School of Theology, SMU, graduating with Honors in 1953. He was awarded a Doctor of Divinity degree by Wiley college, Marshall, TX in 1976.

Dr. Browning served 35 years as pastor of 8 churches in the East Texas region of The United Methodist Church plus 5 years as Executive Director of The Texas Annual Conference Foundation, Houston. After retirement in 1992, he served 8 months as Interim Pastor of The American Protestant Church of The Hague, Netherlands, and participated in short term mission projects in Belize, El Salvador, Haiti, and Kenya, the latter at age 84.

He and his wife, Jackie, participated in over 30 Elderhostel and Road Scholar programs in the U.S. They also travelled to Hawaii, Alaska, and many foreign countries including China and Russia, Israel, Greece, Costa Rica, Peru (Machu Picchu), and Ecuador (Galapagos Islands). They were tour hosts on several Methodist Heritage tours in England, Ireland, and Scotland plus other tours in Europe. He also participated in a 1968 “Study Tour of Churches Behind the Iron Curtain” (East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Russia).

He served on many Texas Annual Conference boards and agencies and 2 years as Chairman of The Methodist Mission Home in San Antonio.

He enjoyed coin and stamp collecting, photography, tennis, gardening, and hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, CO where he climbed 14,259 ft. Longs Peak 3 times.

He is survived by his wife, Jacquelyn Odom Browning, 4 children: Michael, Mark (and wife Pam), Rebecca Browning, and Barbara (Mrs. Russell) Cowman; 5 grandchildren: Michael R., Elyssa (Mrs. Robert McCuistion), Celia Browning, Connor and Cara Cowman; 2 nieces: Drusilla (Mrs. Jim) Rogers, Ruth (Mrs. Weldon) Peters, and 1 nephew, Ken Gervais.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Jacquelyn O. and Guston H. Browning Endowment Fund, Texas Methodist Foundation, 11709 Boulder Lane, Austin, TX 78726. Beneficiaries of this Trust include scholarships at First United Methodist, Jacksonville, TX, and Wiley College, Marshall, TX plus mission programs in several churches where the Brownings served during 40 years of ministry.