Mrs. Doris Brown

Doris Marie Brown (nee Muse) was born on May 19, 1931 and passed away peacefully in her home on May 31, 2024. Doris was born to Leander and Caretha Muse in Palestine, Texas and was the second born and oldest sister of nine children. Doris came from a family with a strong presence in the church, and gave her life to Christ at Grant Chapel AME church in Palestine, TX. From a young age, Doris was passionate about education. Her early school years were spent at Banks Elementary School and she graduated from Lincoln High School in 1949. Doris went on to graduate from Texas College in Tyler, TX in 1952 and continued her education at Texas Southern University. After college, Doris began her teaching career in Slaton, TX where she also met and later married Bennie Brown in 1954. Doris and Bennie went on to have three children, Mark, Marie, and Caretha. In 1966 the family of five moved to Fort Worth, Texas where Doris continued her teaching career. Not only did she teach several grade levels for Fort Worth ISD, but she was also a part of the initial cohort of teachers in Texas to work in racially integrated schools, before retiring after 35 years of teaching for the Texas school system.

When Doris and her family moved to Fort Worth they joined Carter Metropolitan CME church and Doris remained a member for the duration of her life. She was deeply involved in her church in many ways; she served as choir member, Sunday school teacher, Steward Board member, and served on the Board of Christian Education, just to name a few.

While at Texas College, Doris was initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, setting the stage for her daughter and many of her sisters, nieces, and grandchildren to follow her lead. Doris exemplified “scholarship, sisterhood, and service”, the tenets of Alpha Kappa Alpha, throughout her entire life. Not only was she a lifetime member of her beloved sorority, she continued to devote herself to education even after retirement, and spent her life serving her community and church. Doris volunteered as a teacher of African American studies for seniors at Tarrant County Junior College (TCJC), served on the TCJC advisory board, attended several Christian Methodist Episcopal conferences, and volunteered her time to multiple causes including hosting an annual black history dinner event and tutoring for Glencrest School in Fort Worth. Doris engaged in a host of activities and hobbies, including traveling, painting, cooking, and a lifelong love of learning.

While Doris has many accomplishments and accolades, those that knew her will remember her infectious laugh, her quick wit, and her deep love for her family. Doris is preceded in death by her husband Bennie Brown, her parents Leander and Caretha Muse, her brothers Leander Muse Jr. and Charles Muse, and her sister Daisy White. Her death was shortly followed by the passing of her younger brother Robert Edward Muse. She is survived by her children Mark Brown (Theresa), Marie Davis (Joe), and Caretha Davis (John), her grandchildren Adrienne, Everett, Marjorie, Aaron, Jasmine, Matthew, Breanna, and Camille, her brother Clarence (Barbara), her sisters, Jenelle, Lucretia, and Fannie, and a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins. Although Doris is no longer here on earth, her impact will last for generations to come.