Margaret Brown

March 20, 1947 - Jan 13, 2012 CLINTON A Wake Service for Margaret Brown, 64, Clinton businesswoman, will be held 9 a.m., Wednesday, January 18, 2012, in St. Joseph's Hall in St. Mary's Catholic Church, officiated by Father Rex Arnold. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 10 a.m. in the St. Mary's Catholic Church; and burial will follow in the Holy Family Cemetery in Canute, OK, under the direction of the Kiesau-Lee Funeral Home.Margaret Ellen Brown was born March 20, 1947 to Leo Brown and Alice (Jones) Brown in Cordell, Oklahoma, and passed away Friday, January 13, 2012, in the Windsor Hills Nursing Home in Oklahoma City following a lengthy illness.Margaret was raised in Cordell and Clinton, Oklahoma, graduating from Clinton High School in 1965. She continued her education at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, graduating with a B.A. in Humanities in 1968. She did social work for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services in 1969-70. In 1970, she joined the Peace Corps, serving four years in Brazil, and returned to the U.S. in 1974 to continue her education. She took her M.S. in History at OSU in 1975 and an MBA from the University of Texas-Austin in 1982. She then worked toward a PhD in History at UT and then University of Oklahoma. While living in Austin and then Irving, Texas, she worked in the savings and loan industry and continued in this business upon her return to Oklahoma in 1984. She moved home to Clinton in 1986 to work in the real estate business with her father, Leo Brown, Sr., and her brother, Leo "Butch" Brown, Jr. Due to failing health, she retired in December 2008.She was an active member of St. Mary's Catholic Church, serving in many capacities: the Choir, Altar Society and Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women. She was a member of and served as president of the Chamber of Commerce, and was a member of Business and Professional Women, Kiwanis Club, and Custer County Historical Society. She was an avid family historian and genealogist and loved to travel and research genealogy with her aunts. She was also a scholar of Oklahoma history and was especially interested in Native American Culture. She was a member of the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society.She was preceded in death by her parents, Leo and Alice Brown; and a nephew, Leo Brown, III. She is survived by her sister, Christine Flaming and husband, James, OKC; three brothers: Leo "Butch" Brown, Clinton; Robert Brown and wife Nancy, Edmond; and Cory Brown and wife, Xanthe Matychak, Rochester, NY. She is also survived by eight nieces and nephews: Toby Brown, Kelly Flaming, Mollie (Brown) Damani, Colin Brown, Nick Wadleigh, Sophie Brown, Allison Brown, Sasha Brown; a great-niece, Ally Brown; and a great-nephew, Ben Brown.The family has suggested those wishing to make memorial contributions may do so to St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry of St. Mary's Catholic Church or St. Mary's Catholic Charities.