Lawrence Brown Nettles Jr., known as Brownie to the Bubbas, passed away peacefully at his home in Merida, Mexico on Feb. 26, 2023.
A sixth-generation Conch, he was born in Key West on June 30, 1958, the son of Judy Trevor Nettles and Larry Nettles, both deceased. He is survived by his wife, Grace Espana, his daughter, Cassandra Mense of Big Pine Key, two sisters, Vicki Parsons and Ellen Frogner, two step-children, Luis Espana and Lucy Espana, and numerous nieces and nephews. He will forever be in our hearts.
He grew up in the Key West we all love and miss, playing baseball and climbing a big Spanish lime tree in the backyard, holding down first base in the Little League, catching Klee-Klee hawks with lizards, sailing and renting Hobie cats from Higgs Beach and building “Brownie Boats” on Stock Island. He loved to fish and spent a lot of time on the water. After he left Key West, he ran a crew of framing carpenters, owned a farm and restored older houses. He moved to Mexico in 2012 and built a dream house for his beloved wife.
He was a Conch in the truest sense of the word. He’ll return to Key West at a date to be determined.
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