Don Brown was raised in St. Joseph, Mo., where he helped his father make and paint decoys to hunt with at an early age. Don began to make his own style of wood decoys in the mid-1950s. His first sale of mantle-quality decoys - a pair of mallards - was to a collector in 1957.

Making, showing, and selling decoys became a serious hobby in 1973. He has participated in many Missouri art shows in Springfield, the Kansas City area, and the St. Louis area. He has also participated in the Festival of American Music and Crafts at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo., as a part of the Best of Missouri Hands exhibits. And he regularly participates in the annual Missouri Wildlife Art Festival in St. Charles, Mo.

Beginning in 1975, Don was a regular at the National Wildlife Art Show in the Kansas City area. The decoys have claimed a few “Best-of-Shows” over the years.

His decoys have been presented as awards and gifts to many individuals, including President George H.W. Bush when visiting the Springfield area. He has received national and state awards for his donations of decoys to fundraisers for Ducks Unlimited. Now retired from his pharmacist career, Don is devoting his time to decoy-making, other wildfowl art, traveling, hunting, fishing, and family…(not necessarily in that order).