June Juanita Byrd Brown

June Byrd Brown, 94, of Timonium, MD, passed away on Memorial Day (May 26, 2025), at Stella Maris Hospice Care, Timonium, MD.
Born in Baltimore, MD, she was the only child of the late Lynn Goodwin Byrd and Nellie Rozellah Arbaugh. She was preceded in death by her husband, Daniel W. Brown, Sr., and survived by her son Daniel W. Brown, Jr., and his wife, Camilla Acquista of Washington, DC; her two daughters, Mary Byrd Brown of Severna Park, and Martha Wist and her husband Matthew Wist of Sparks Glencoe, MD; two granddaughters, Sofia C. Brown and Stella E. Brown; and a niece and a nephew.
June grew up in Pikesville, MD, and graduated from Towson Catholic High School. A talented painter and pencil sketch artist, she took classes at Maryland Institute College of Art in her youth and continued drawing well into her eighties. In the 1970s, she started a needlepoint finishing business called June Bug Enterprises. For over a decade, the business served prestigious clients including the Washington National Cathedral and Blair House, and various retail needlepoint shops in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Her first job was as a secretary for a Baltimore law firm.
Early American and British history remained a passion of June and her husband, Dan (1928-2019), throughout their nearly 64-year marriage. (They wed on August 13, 1955, in Pikesville, MD, at Ames Church, where June sang in the choir.)
Their dream to retire in Williamsburg, VA, was fulfilled in 1989, when June and Dan moved from Reisterstown, MD, into their home in Ford's Colony, which they designed to reflect 18th Century architecture in every detail, down to the flat head nails that drove the carpenters crazy. During their 15 magical years in Williamsburg, June served as a docent at Bruton Parish Church, while Dan guided archeology tours at Jamestown. Their home became not only a family gathering place, but also the venue for 15 annual "Girl's Weekend's" for daughter Martha and her best friends. Throughout retirement, June enjoyed golf, music, cross stitching, gardening, and travels to France and England.
In 2004, June and Dan joined the Mercy Ridge retirement community in Timonium, MD. One of her proudest achievements was helping to start "Bargains Galore," a thrift store located at Mercy Ridge, which offered affordable secondhand items for sale, the proceeds going to support employees suffering hardship. June lived out her values of community service by serving on Mercy Ridge's Finance Committee and Building Maintenance Committee. She gave generously to veteran's organizations, scholarship funds, food banks and non-profit health care organizations.
While a diligent and serious person, June also had a funny side. At Thanksgiving, she would sometimes say, "Pull up a chair for my warped sense of humor!"
June's Christmas Toll House chocolate chip cookies were the best.
A Celebration of Life is being arranged by her family. Date, time and place to be announced soon on this website. Donations are encouraged to Stella Maris Hospice via https://stellamaris.org/donate/