Patricia Brown

Patricia Grace Brown, long time Las Cruces resident, passed away peacefully in her home on August 29th. She was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years, John Findley Brown. In the last months of her life, she reflected with her family on what her life meant to her. She was born Patricia Grace McAdams on March 4, 1926, in Detroit, Michigan, to James and Oneita McAdams. She was the youngest of five children, born on the eve of the Great Depression. Soon after her birth, her parents divorced, her father left, and from early childhood her life was difficult and unprotected. From an early age, she found comfort, support and guidance from strong women and throughout her life, fondly recalled her love for them, including Ma Middleton, Dickie Shepard, Sally Daly Frost, Grace Price, Betty Faustyn, Ruth Cole, June Lafferty, and her big sister Francis Sturley. Throughout her life, she looked to these women as models by which to live. Her mother remarried to James Robison, a cornetist in the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The family struggled through the Depression, her mother working as a cleaning lady, and her stepfather playing pick-up gigs in burlesque houses in Detroit. She recalled her mother taking all five children to a burlesque when she was very young, and telling them that they should never be ashamed of what their parents did, because "all work has dignity." She recalled having to sell their belongings and move from temporary home to temporary home during this time of great hardship, and this embedded in her the deep desire for a stable home for her own family, and to recognize the hardships of others' lives with a deeply ingrained commitment to help those less fortunate. She proudly recalled that any childhood home in which they lived quickly bore the mark of hoboes as a safe and giving place to seek help. She met her husband, John Findley Brown, in Detroit, while he was serving in the US Navy as a physician in training. They were married on December 17, 1948. They settled in Battle Creek, Michigan, where their first child, Janice Elizabeth was born, and soon afterward, their second child, Julia Ann. They moved to Detroit, where they celebrated the birth of their third and fourth children, Kathleen Patricia and John Beckwith, and in 1964, settled into their family home in Northville, Michigan. Having created the stable and loving home she always sought, she perceived her life as one of great privilege, and lived by the adage "before you look in anyone else's life, clean up your own corner first." And clean she did. She served her community throughout her adult life in a wide variety of ways, in her children's' schools and on service boards for charitable and human services organizations. But her greatest service was to her family, and she shepherded her children with dedicated attention and high expectations through life, through higher education and into careers in service to others. She and her husband came to Las Cruces in 1980 to be near their first grandchild, and over the next few years, saw the birth of their grandchildren, Gia, Paul, John, Matthew, AJ, Zak and Walker. Their children gravitated to them, and Las Cruces soon became home to their son John, their daughter Julia, her husband Stephen, and two of their grandchildren, Zak and Walker. The life of friendships and stability she had built since childhood was repeated in Las Cruces, and her manner of connecting with other strong and loving women continued. She wished to be remembered to all of her dear friends, but especially to those who became her sisters, companions and support at the end of her life; Pauline, Colette, Alegra, Rosa and Beth. She also wished to be remembered to her friend Gary Stephens, who gave her friendship and companionship in the last years of her life. Her family is also deeply grateful to the gentle and loving care that she received during her last, most vulnerable days from her caregivers from Wendy's Help at Home, including Crystal, Nina, Christy, Christina, Rocio, and Ana. She organized her life on a firm set of straightforward beliefs, her most often repeated, "Jesus taught us to love one another, nothing else much matters." Intolerance and lack of generosity confounded her, and she hoped to see in her lifetime universal healthcare and the right of all people to marry. She is survived by her sister, Francis Sturley, of Royal Oak, Michigan; daughter Janice Brown, her husband Steven Lewis and their children Paul and Matthew, of Kalamazoo, Michigan; daughter Julia Hansen, her husband Stephen Hansen and their children Zak and Walker, of Las Cruces; daughter Kathleen Marotta, her husband John Marotta, and their children Gia, John and AJ, of San Antonio, Texas and Miami, Florida; son John Brown and his partner Adolfo Quesada, of Albuquerque and San Jose, Costa Rica; great granddaughter Olivia Lewis, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and her beloved dog Shorty. A wake and celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, September 10, 2011, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm, at her home, and all are invited to attend and share in her friendships. Mortuary arrangements and cremation are with Getz Funeral Home www.GetzCares.com. Patricia requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Mesilla Valley Hospice or Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley. 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