Frances Brown

1930 - 2024

Frances Brown

Warner, NH - Frances Virginia Brown, "Fran", passed away peacefully on Monday, March 25th surrounded by family. She lived a long and vibrant 93 years, during which she grew an enormous family, ran a successful real estate business and inspired everyone around her with her productivity, generous heart and thoughtfulness.

After a childhood in southern NH and Vermont, she settled in Warner, NH in 1963. She birthed 5 children in a span of 6 years and then raised them largely by herself. It was important to her to expose her children to skiing, horseback riding, swimming and other outdoor activities. It was not uncommon to wake up on a snowy winter school day only to learn that the family was going skiing instead. Over the decades she welcomed many grandchildren, great grandchildren and in-laws, most of whom live in the area. She also kept up frequent long distance phone calls and visits with her three sisters and their families. A loving and inquisitive matriarch, she cultivated a close and special relationship with each person in her large family. She is sorely missed.

In the late 1960's she put herself through real estate school and started her own business. Over five decades, she helped hundreds sell their homes in the Warner area and welcomed many new families to town. A lover of architecture and colonial homes especially, she worked on many renovation projects and had a penchant for designing beautiful and functional kitchens, bathrooms and social spaces.

She had a deep love of travel and was always looking to get out of town-whether it was a two-day trip to Maine or a two-week adventure in Portugal. Although busy with a thriving business, she made time to travel often, always accompanied by various family members and friends.

When she was home, she liked to conduct her paperwork from her kitchen table and was happy for anyone to stop by or call throughout the day and evening. Her hands were rarely still-she was writing notes in her large, elegant handwriting, balancing checkbooks, sketching renovations on graph paper, folding laundry, highlighting maps for her next trip (or others' trips), and mending clothes for anyone in the family. She walked and drove quickly and with purpose. She didn't hesitate to take joy in the small pleasures of the everyday. For her, those delights included sitting by a window with good morning sun, exceptionally strong coffee, a great thrift store find, ice cream, a nice glass of wine at the end of a long day, and playing and laughing with the small children in her life.

Many people from town, clients, friends and family will miss calling the Brown Family Realty office on Main Street and hearing her cheerful "Hello, Fran Brown," on the other end of the line.

May we all remember her warm smile, curiosity, thoughtfulness and kindness, and pass them on.

Per Fran's request, there will be a "big party" to celebrate her life this summer.

Donations in Fran's name can be made to the Warner Food Pantry, PO Box 402, Warner, NH 03278 or online at www.warnerconnectsnh.org