Many people’s only appearance in the newspaper will be their obituary. Others will make an indelible mark on their community and see plenty of ink (or whatever they call it these days, as print publications increasingly become a thing of the past). The latter was true for Bobby Brown, a beloved referee of high school sports in Southern Alabama.

In 2007, I spoke with his wife, his son, and others in the community to get a the full picture on his life (or as much as I could on deadline). Here’s the result. Preserved below: