Nancy Brown

Nancy Brown

On September 27, God welcomed Nancy Brown to her Heavenly Home where she will be united with her beloved parents, Marie and Howard Brown. Nancy is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Jayne and Bobby Ukrop; her nephews, nieces and their spouses, Rob and Shannon Ukrop, Jacquelin and Scott Aronson, Jeff and Nicole Ukrop, and Nancy Jo and Chris Kantner. Nancy adored her great-nephews and nieces, Peyton and Presley Garst, Jack, Jayne, Joseph and Howe Aronson, Riggs and Brown Ukrop and Emily, Noah and Abbie Kantner. There are not enough words to describe Nancy. She touched the lives of so many young men and women through her gift of teaching, her faithfulness to her church, and the abiding love she shared unselfishly with her family and friends.

Nancy's love of learning began in 1951. She saw the power of education at Matthew Fontaine Maury Elementary School where she was encouraged early on to become a gifted and creative teacher. Her interest in teaching grew at Bainbridge Junior High School, George Wythe High and then Longwood College where many opportunities for service strengthened her talent for teaching. She was Editor-in-Chief of the Wythe Ledger (high school newspaper) and for two years wrote weekly articles for the Youth Page of Richmond's evening paper, The News Leader. She was involved in Student Government all four years at Longwood and elected president of the Student Government Association her senior year.

Her first four years of teaching were at Manchester High School and Douglas Freeman High School. After happily fulfilling her commitment to teach in the Commonwealth of Virginia for four years, she was led to the University of Virginia to pursue her Masters in English Education. As she began to search for a teaching position near Washington, D.C., Nancy's devotion to and strong love for her country, she accepted the opportunity to teach at Quantico High School on the Quantico Marine Base. She loved the chance to teach English to high school students from many states and foreign countries. Nancy spent an impressive 31 years at Quantico High School, serving as English Department Chair for 28 of those years and was involved in curricular and numerous administrative writing projects. She knew the value of extracurricular activities and sponsored many including the school yearbook as well as the literary and art magazines.

Nancy was involved with community and military organizations that offered outstanding opportunities to enhance student confidence and knowledge of the principles and inner-workings of the government of our great country. She collaborated with the American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary for the Boys and Girls State programs, the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.), Good Citizen program, and the Sojourners National Essay Contest.

Nancy was the recipient of the Dogwood Award given by Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge in 1989 and in 2001. On June 10, 2003, her last day at Quantico before retiring, she was in her classroom when she heard an announcement asking her to come to the front of the building only to discover the Marine Corps flag was flying in her honor. Later at a luncheon that very flag and the American flag flown at base headquarters had been furled and given to her in a presentation box. A year later, she was invited by the senior students to be their graduation speaker.

Retirement in Richmond led her to fulfilling a dream stemming from music lessons as a young child. She gathered beloved hymns and music of decades from the 1920s to the 1980s and prepared music programs with song sheets for retirement communities in Richmond where she would perform as a caring and loving volunteer. Her faithful devotion to River Road Church Baptist was a great "find." The love and friendship she received created a warm and welcoming church family that she dearly loved.

A bright, loving, gifted, talented, beautiful and faithful child of God will be missed, but her humble heart will be an example of God's influence on her earthly life and will be etched on the hearts of many forever.

A memorial service will be held at River Road Church Baptist at 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 5. A reception will follow at the church. Burial private. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to River Road Church Baptist, 8000 River Road, Richmond, VA, 23229 or Richmond City Public Schools Scholarship, Longwood University Foundation, Inc., 201 High Street, Farmville, VA, 23901.