Gabrielle Brown

1931 - 2014

On Friday, June 27, 2014, Gabrielle "Gay" McClellan Brown, beloved mom, wife, community volunteer, tennis player extraordinaire and private pilot, dipped her wings for the last time before heading skyward. She will be greatly missed by those left behind on the ground. Service: Honoring Gay's wishes, she will be remembered and celebrated privately by her family. Born in New York City, N.Y., and raised in Pinehurst, N.C., Gay lived a full and adventurous life. Following stints at Sarah Lawrence College and The Sorbonne in Paris, she began a career at National Airlines that eventually led to her being appointed special representative of the president of National. Gay's vivacious, joyous personality was perfectly suited for this public relations position, which allowed her to travel all over the world, another love of hers. Gay did slow down long enough to marry her longtime sweetheart, Roy Brown (aka "Jigs"). Fortunately, her husband's career in international business allowed them to continue traveling and residing abroad. 1960 saw the birth of her first daughter, Pamela, in New York, followed by a move to Venezuela, where her second daughter, Terry, was born. From Venezuela it was on to Africa for several years, where her son, Robbie, was born. Family complete, it was time to move to Mexico City, Mexico, for 18 years, and finally on to Fort Worth, where she lived the remainder of her years. Gay loved Fort Worth and jumped into life here with as much enthusiasm as she did everything else. She became a volunteer at Harris Hospital downtown and later at the Van Cliburn Foundation. She also entered the Fort Worth tennis world -- a sport she had played since her teenage years -- with glee, and created many special friendships with her wonderful "tennis buddies." Her piece de resistance, however, may have been deciding to become a pilot at the age of 62. Despite what must have been a bit of head-shaking by men who had flown for many years and weren't quite sure what to do with this 62-year-old female upstart, it did not take her long to master this new endeavor, nor did it take long to befriend these terrific people in her new world, whom she grew to care for deeply. Gay continued to fly her white, red-striped Piper Cherokee for many years. The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to Dr. Charles Carlton and his staff, particularly Cynthia, Sheila, Nancy, Cristina and Angel, for the exceptional care and support they provided Gay with these past years. She was preceded in death by her son, Robbie C. Brown, and her brother, Bobby McClellan. Survivors: Her husband, Leroy T. Brown Jr.; daughter, Pamela Brown Larick and her husband, Mark; and daughter, Terry Brown Smith and her husband, Bart.