co-chairman of Governor Paul E. Patton's Council on Domestic Violence along with Patton's wife, Judi. Brown said he had always been interested in curbing domestic violence, but his interest became personal after he discovered that his sister, Betty "Boo" McCann, had been a victim. In 2003, Patton renamed Kentucky Route 9 as the "John Y. Brown Jr. AA Highway". The "AA" designation comes from the fact that the highway originally connected the cities of Alexandria and Ashland. In late 2006, Brown partnered with actress Suzanne Somers to open a do-it-yourself meal preparation store called Suzanne's Kitchen. The flagship store opened in Tates Creek Centre in Lexington, and a second store was opened in New Jersey. Brown intended to build the business into a chain, but five months after the Lexington location opened, both stores closed. Brown said he wanted to "revamp the whole format to get something even more convenient" and promised to re-open both stores at some unspecified future date. Investor John Shannon Bouchillon sued Brown and Somers, claiming they had deceived him both before and after his investment of $400,000. The case against Brown was dropped before it went to trial. In 2011, a Fayette County, Kentucky judge dismissed the suit against Somers for lack of evidence. Brown refused to serve on the inaugural committee of his old political foe, Steve Beshear, when Beshear was elected governor in 2007. All of Kentucky's living former Democratic governors were invited to participate, and each accepted the invitation with the exception of Brown. Of his refusal, Brown stated "I don't respect him. I don't want to be part of it. I'm not really interested in being politically correct." Referring to the 1987 Democratic gubernatorial primary campaign, Brown continued, "He said things that were not true, like we had raised taxes. I just never respected him after that." However, when Beshear was reelected in 2011, Brown did serve as inauguration co-chair with the other former governors. In 2008, Brown was named to the University of Kentucky College of Law Alumni Association's Hall of Fame. In a press release, the association cited Brown's success at Kentucky Fried Chicken, his political career, and his help in establishing the university's Sanders–Brown Center on Aging as reasons for his induction. The center is named in honor of Harland Sanders and Brown's father. Brown divided his time between homes in Lexington, Kentucky, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Death