Elizabeth Ann Brown's Obituary
Elizabeth Ann Mitchell Brown was born April 27, 1941, in the Orange Mound Community of Memphis, Tennessee to the late Elmore Mitchell and Elizabeth Burnett Mitchell.Ann attended Melrose for twelve years and graduated in the class of 1959. She had the honorable distinction of being voted Miss Melrose. She continued her education and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Tennessee State University in 1963. Soon thereafter she married her college sweetheart Ronald Barbee and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana. The marriage did not thrive and was soon dissolved.Ann was briefly employed by the U. S. Postal Service before she began a lifelong career in social work with the Indianapolis Department of Human Services and later with the Tennessee Department of Human Services after returning to Memphis. Shortly after moving to Indianapolis a painful toothache and a distress call to dentist, Dr. John C. Brown, was the beginning of a romance that lasted until Dr. Brown’s demise. During their marriage, they lived a carefree life of travel and leisure. She being the epitome of style, class and grace and he being the car enthusiast enjoyed life to the fullest. Ann retired from the Tennessee Department of Human Services as a dedicated case worker. Her expertise and dedication to her clients were evident in the satisfactory assistance they received.Ann, with closed eyes and shallow breathing drifted off into a heavenly peace about 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, 2017 at St. Francis Hospital immediately following a visit from family.Ann leaves to cherish her memories, a nephew Michael T. Swift (Angela), a niece Elizabeth A. Stevens (Martavious), great nephews Michael L. Swift and Martavious D. Stevens, II, great nieces Alyssa M. Swift and Sydnee E. Stevens. She leaves special cousins Theautry Randolph, Jacqueline Randolph and Dorothy Wright of Memphis , also Anita Thompson and Velma Habibah Luqman of Chicago, Illinois, as well as other family members, friends and classmates. Ann was preceded in death by her parents and sister Chalmers LaVera Hoskins.We are comforted in knowing Ann is free from pain and resting peacefully.. “Celebrating Life….Behind the Stone Wall.”
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