Federal Judge Wesley Brown, 104, dies

WICHITA, Kan. -- As the nation's oldest sitting federal judge in history, U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown allowed himself few concessions to his advancing age as he insisted on presiding over significant and often complex cases right up until his death at 104.

Brown died Monday night at the Wichita assisted living center where he lived, his law clerk, Nanette Turner Kalcik, said .

During his long tenure, the senior judge in Wichita repeatedly tried to explain why he had not yet fully retired from the federal bench.

"As a federal judge, I was appointed for life or good behavior, whichever I lose first," Brown said in a 2011 interview with The Associated Press. How did he plan to leave the post? "Feet first," he said.

He came to work at the federal courthouse every day until about a month ago when his health deteriorated, U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten said. Undeterred, the ailing Brown then had his law clerks bring work to the hospital and later to the assisted living center while he recuperated. His law clerks were with him virtually nonstop, taking turns to be there except at night during the past few weeks.

Brown was appointed as a federal district judge in 1962 by then-President John F. Kennedy.

"When Judge Brown spoke, we listened because -- while nobody has seen it all -- he certainly came closer to it than anybody I have ever known," Marten said. "And his message was always the same: remember who you are and what your job is."

-- AP