 | Mary Frances Earhart Brown
May 22, 2012 | |
Life Legacy
Mary Frances Earhart Brown, age 92, died Tuesday, May 22 at Hope Hospice in Sebring. Mrs. Brown, twice married, is survived by her husband, Dr. Frederick J. Brown, Jr. Her first husband, Dr. Quentin L. Earhart, died in 1981. She is also survived by her son, Robert Allan Earhart, and his wife Kelley, of Columbus, Georgia. Her daughter, Barbara Earhart Sheehan, predeceased her in 1999. Mrs. Brown leaves two stepsons, Eric Hastings Brown and his wife Debra, of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, and Richard Parker Brown and his wife Kimberly of Frederick, Maryland. She is also survived by six grandchildren, Tracey Sheehan, of Homestead, Florida, John Sheehan IV, of Haddon Township, New Jersey, Robert Earhart, Jr., and Sean Earhart of Columbus, Erica Brown of East Norriton, Pennsylvania, and Inga Brown of Mt. Pleasant. She also leaves a great-grandson, John M. Sheehan, V, and a great-granddaughter, Natalie Ryan Sheehan, also of New Jersey.
Born in Bridgewater, Virginia, Mrs. Brown was the daughter of the late Rev. Frank E. Williar and his wife Marian Finkbine Williar. One of seven children, she had three brothers, Frank, Oscar, and Robert, of whom Robert survives. Of her three sisters, Rosalie, Sylvia, and Rebecca, only Rebecca survives.
Mrs. Brown graduated from Western Maryland College in Westminster, Maryland, and earned graduate degrees at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland. She taught music in the Baltimore County and Frederick County, Maryland, public schools. She conducted an ambitious program of musical presentations, and her choruses won awards for their outstanding performances. In addition, she was organist at churches in Westminster, Maryland, and a choir member of the Chancel Choir of Grace United Methodist Church, Baltimore, where the choir at that time included James Morris, now with the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She treasured the notes she received from former students who called her their best teacher ever, and that she was their inspiration to go into music education, too.
Mrs. Brown was a member of St. Agnes Episcopal Church, Sebring. She was also a member of Frederick Chapter # 79, Order of the Eastern Star, the Maryland Retired Teachers Association, the Frederick County, Maryland, Retired School Personnel Association, the Society of Virginia Women of Maryland, the Sebring chapter of the American Association of University Women, and Highlands County Inner Wheel.
A devoted wife and mother, Mrs. Brown greatly enjoyed entertaining family and friends in her home, where she delighted in preparing varied foods for parties and dinners. She especially enjoyed family holiday dinners when the children and the grandchildren of the blended families gathered around her table. She also greatly enjoyed her flower gardens in Maryland and in Florida. Mary Frances appreciated good music, and she liked to play her piano and lead singing at her parties. She also supported the concert series at South Florida Community College.
She enjoyed people, and she leaves behind numerous friends to whom she was devoted. She maintained a positive manner and outlook and found and nurtured the good in everyone she met. She was a person of strong faith which she attributed to the influence of her parents. Her own strong faith allowed her freedom from daily worries, and she often expressed her belief that persons with faith need not fret over small things. She rejected negative thinking and thinkers.
A formidable collector, she enjoyed American and English antiques, Oriental rugs, and water colors by Ginny Earhart Hancock of Charleston, South Carolina, She particularly liked to read recipe books, which in later years became party gifts for her friends when her collection threatened to overwhelm available space. Many of the her treasures were travel souvenirs. She and her husband Fred loved to travel, and had visited all the continents except Antarctica. They particularly enjoyed cruising-- the Mediterranean Sea as well as the North Sea, Baltic Sea, the South Pacific, and almost yearly the Caribbean. Her special pleasure was their annual stay in Maine, where they frequented a beautifully sited cabin overlooking Frenchman Bay toward Mt. Desert Island and Cadillac Mountain.
A memorial service will be held at St. Agnes Episcopal Church in Sebring on Saturday, May 26, at 11:00 a.m. A service in Frederick, Maryland will be held at a future date. Kindly omit flowers in favor of memorial contributions to the charity of one's choice.
Condolences or Life Stories may be expressed in her Guestbook. Morris Funeral Chapel, Sebring, Fl.
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Preceded In Death By
Dr. Quentin L. Earhart, First Husband
Barbara Earhart Sheehan, Daughter
Survived By
Dr. Frederick J. Brown, Jr., Husband
Robert Allan (Kelly) Earhart, Son
Eric Hastings (Debra) Brown, Stepson
Richard Parker (Kimberly) Brown, Stepson
Tracey Sheehan, Grandchild
John Sheehan IV, Grandchild
Robert Earhart, Jr., Grandchild
Sean Earhart, Grandchild
Erica Brown, Grandchild
Inga Brown, Grandchild
John M. Sheehan, V, Great-Grandson
Natalie Ryan Sheehan, Great-Granddaughter
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Facts
Place Of Birth: Bridgewater, VA
Place Of Death: Sebring, FL
Date of Death: May 22, 2012
Member of St. Agnes Episcopal Church, Sebring
Services
A memorial service will be held at
St. Agnes Episcopal Church in Sebring
on Saturday, May 26, at 11:00 a.m.
A service in Frederick, Maryland
will be held at a future date.
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