Mary Jane Leonard Brown

BROWN-Mary Jane Leonard Born August 6, 1926 in Buffalo, NY, the youngest daughter of Esther Anwyl and Irving Benjamin Leonard, died at 2 PM on November 6, 2007 at the Hunterdon Regional Cancer Center, Flemington, NJ. Her education followed Main Street in Buffalo including Grade School 17, Bennett High School, and the University of Buffalo. Mary Jane excelled in the Buffalo Public Schools where she earned Jessie Ketchum medals and was the concert mistress of the orchestra. She was raised in Buffalo Delaware Avenue Baptist Church where she felt that being in the sanctuary must have been like being in Heaven. When her family moved from Buffalo to the family farm during the war, she attended Delevan High School and graduated as salutatorian in 1944. Mary Jane earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Buffalo in 1950. She taught English in the Sherman Public School system where she enjoyed the challenge of preparing her students to excel on the regency exams. Later, she wrote for the Mt. Lebanon, PA newspaper. She later attended the Union Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. Three of her four grandparents were born in Wales and immigrated to the United States. She annually attended the Welsch North American Gymanfa Ganu Hymn Festival with her family. On September 25, 1954, she married Francis Arthur Brown (died in 2005) in the Delaware Avenue Baptist Church, Buffalo, NY. She was a mother of three daughters, Penelope (Penny) Lee Brown of Mt. Lebanon, PA, Melanie Louise Brown, Esq. of Branchburg, NJ and Dr. Bronwen Brown Loeb of Philadelphia, PA who is married to Dr. Eric Loeb, also of Philadelphia. Her daughters survive her. Her mother was a church organist and piano teacher and her father was a US Postal Service Railway Clerk-In-Charge. Her sister, Maurine Leonard Hartley Laumer died in 1979 and her brother Norman Leonard died in 1995. Mary Jane always encouraged her daughters to do well in school and supported them in their many endeavors. She was a lifelong advocate for children and founded the Fine Arts Festival at the Julia Ward Howe School, Mt. Lebanon, PA. She served many years in the Mt. Lebanon Parent Teachers Association including as President for two years. She also persuaded the Mt. Lebanon School Board to rewire Howe school to provide a safer and brighter environment for learning. Mrs. Brown was a member of the Shadyside Presbyterian Church, the St. David's Society of Pittsburgh, the Hymn Society of America, and the Salem Cemetery Society, Inc. BABBITT AND EASTON FUNERAL HOME, Franklinville, NY is handling the Funeral arrangements for the fmaily as follows. Visiting hours will be on Friday, November 16, from 2-4 PM and 7-9 PM where a Memorial Service will occur on Saturday, November 17th at 1 PM. Rev. Pete Spear of the First Baptist Church of Franklinville will officiate. Burial will follow at the Freedom Cemetery, Freedom, NY next to her husband and in close proximity to her parents. In lieu of flowers, Mary Jane's family requests that donations in Mary Jane's memory be made to the Salem Cemetery Society (c/o Lynda Tucker, Secretary, 11355 Genesee St., Alden, NY 14004). Mary Jane's family appreciates the excellent care that she received for many years from Dr. Kenneth Blankstein at Hunterdon Regional Medical Center, Flemington, NJ.