CARMINA ELENA DOUGLAS BROWN

CARMINA HELEN BROWN, ELENA WEICKARDT BROWN, AND DOUGLAS WARREN BROWN Carmina Helen Brown, Elena Weickardt Brown, and Douglas Warren Brown died December 11, 2015. Doug Brown was born June 22, 1951 in Seattle, Washington. His family moved to the Tri-Cities in 1957, and he graduated from Pasco High School in 1969. He received a bachelor's degree from Whitman College in 1974 and joined the United States Navy, attending Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island. While there he met Elena Weickardt, a fellow Officer Candidate. Elena Weickardt was born in Madrid, Spain on May 9, 1951. She emigrated to the United States at the age of five with her mother and father. She graduated from Clear Creek High School in League City, Texas in 1969, and received a bachelor's degree from Seattle University in 1974. Doug and Elena both received commissions as officers in the United States Navy in March of 1975. They married on April 2, 1977. Their navy service took them to many parts of the world, including Panama, Hawaii, the Philippines, and Germany. They both received master's degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School: Elena in 1980, Doug in 1981. In 1985, Doug Brown left active duty to attend graduate school and work for Logistics Management Institute (LMI), while remaining a member of the United States Navy Reserve. In 1987, while Elena was stationed at the Washington Navy Yard, their daughter, Carmina Helen Brown, was born on March 30th in Bethesda, Maryland. The three moved to Germany a few months later, where they lived until 1991. While there, they learned Carmina had a chromosomal abnormality that would affect her intellectual development. Doug and Elena devoted themselves to providing the best possible life for Carmina, and helping her learn to live as independently as possible. When they returned to the United States in 1991, Elena attended the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and Doug taught at Carlisle College. They also welcomed into their home the first of a series of 15 young German women who lived and worked with them as au pairs over the next 15 years. Each, during her year in their home, became a member of their extended family, and many were later welcomed back to their home as guests, or welcomed Doug, Elena and Carmina to their homes during the family's many visits to Germany. In 1992, the family returned to the Washington DC area, where they lived for the next 12 years. In 1995, Elena retired from the Navy with the rank of Commander. Following her military service, she continued her career in national security as an intelligence manager and analyst at Booz Allen Hamilton. In 1995, Doug completed a second master's degree in software systems engineering at George Mason University. In 2000-2001, Elena completed a teacher certification program at George Mason University, but following the attacks on September 11, 2001, decided to continue her work in intelligence rather than as a full-time teacher. They retired from their full-time employment and moved to the Tri Cities in 2004. They immediately became involved in community service in the Tri-Cities, volunteering with Kiwanis, ARC of the Tri-Cities, Special Olympics, and Modern Living Services. In 2005, Doug retired from the Navy Reserve after 30 years of service with the rank of Captain.They both continued doing part-time work with LMI and Booz Allen Hamilton, and Elena was a substitute teacher for Pasco and Kennewick School Districts. Doug was one of the founders of the Horse Heaven Hills Kiwanis Club, and was deeply involved in all of its activities. Elena helped found Modern Living Services, an organization that provides housing, life skills and educational resources to people with developmental disabilities. Carmina attended Southridge High School, graduating in 2008. While at Southridge, she participated in Buddy Club, and joyously attended many school dances and athletic games with her parents, her grandfather, and her buddy club partner. After graduation, she worked at Goodwill Industries, and participated in the Special Olympics swim team her parents coached, winning several medals that she wore with pride. She loved bicycle rides and family breakfasts in the park, ATV rides with her dad, and attending Kiwanis camp every summer. The family housed exchange students from Germany and the Republic of Georgia, and these young women became extended family, just as the au pairs had. Elena assisted in the placement of other exchange students in homes throughout the Tri-Cities region. They supported one another in their athletic pursuits, cheering on Doug as he completed marathons in many parts of the world, Elena as she participated in tennis tournaments, and Carmina as she swam in Special Olympics swim meets. They celebrated when Kennewick Perry Suites, housing for adults with intellectual and other disabilities, opened. This was a project dear to Elena's heart. They were a loving and loved family. Elena's father, Hans Weickhardt, and Doug's mother, Helen Gertrude Brown, preceded them in death.They are survived by Elena's mother Carmen Tapia Weickardt in Aschau, Germany, and by Doug's father and sister, Ben Brown and Benita Brown, both here in the Tri-Cities, and by his brother, Clifford Brown in Lima, Peru. They will be dearly missed by their immediate family, their nieces, nephews, and many cousins throughout the world, and numerous friends and colleagues. Rosary service will be at 7 pm on Tuesday, December 22nd at Mueller's Tri-City Funeral Home, 1401 S. Union St. in Kennewick. A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 520 S. Garfield St. in Kennewick at 10:30 am on Wednesday, December 23rd. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Modern Living Services. (PO Box 7046, Kennewick WA 99356 or http://www. modernlivingservices.org/)