Dixie Lee Brown

Dixie Lee Brown, 91, of Richmond, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on Sunday, July 30, 2023. She was the youngest of nine, born on January 17, 1932, to Ethel Thompson and raised in Fulton with her eight siblings.

She was educated in the Richmond school system and became a member of the Mt. Calvary Baptist church at an early age.

She became a military wife in 1956, when she married Shedrack Flavious Brown. They began their life together and traveled the world in service to our country for over 30 years. She maintained employment at every military assignment and continued her education while abroad, attending courses at the Sergeant Major Academy. While traveling the world, her hobbies included ceramics, bowling, playing Pokeno and bingo. She was a member of the Wives of the Class IV Sergeants Major Academy association and submitted her buttermilk pie recipe for their cookbook, Old Family Favorites, which was published in 1974 at Fort Bliss Texas.

Once back home, she worked for the Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans hospital as a supervisor in laundry facilities, where she retired after over 20 years of service.

Along with her husband, she started weekly home-based bible study and became an avid student in religious studies. To assist her with her education, she became very interested in bible word search puzzles, which turned into a hobby she continued along with playing solitaire on her computer. Her granddaughter Michelle (granddaughter #2) made sure she always had an ample supply, mailing them to her from Massachusetts once she was unable to find new volumes in the local stores.

She was a strong, proud and beautiful woman, who was also a repeat cancer survivor. As the Matriarch of the family, she was Mom, Grandma, Big Mama, Aunt Geraldine; the rock, the foundation, the mentor, and the caretaker. Family was everything to her and she was the glue that held the family together. If you needed her, she was there, no matter what. She instilled the values and importance of taking care of one another and staying connected as a family. Even though several of her children and grandchildren live in various parts of the country, she made sure distance was no barrier. She took great pride in having 5 generations together for the holidays. Gatherings at her home, affectionately known as Browntown, were always filled with love and laughter, whether we were sharing a meal, enjoying Kristin's (Granddaughter #3) homemade cookies, playing poker or just talking. She always spoke her mind, and she always spoke what was on her heart. Words simply cannot describe how deeply she will be missed.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Ethel D. Thompson; son, Carroll Anthony Brown; four brothers, Harold, Earl, Walter, Raymond; and four sisters, Alice, Mary, Alease, Doris.

She leaves to cherish her loving memory, her devoted husband of 67 years, Shedrack F. Brown; children, Wyoma Diana Staten, Joyce Ann Mason, Eddie Lee Brown (Carrie); six grandchildren, Tanya - Granddaughter #1, Michelle - Granddaughter #2, Kristin - Granddaughter #3, Gordy - Grandson #1, Antonia - Granddaughter #4 and Andrea - Granddaughter #5; six great grandchildren, Pierre Sr., Aleynde, Akyanna, Elijah, Jessa, Kinlee; three great-great grandchildren, Pierre Jr., Deonte, Jamaine; nieces, Claudette (Earl), Janiqua; nephews, Hasaan, Harold, Earl; brother-in-law, Larry Brown; sister-in-law, Joyce Brown Foreman; and an abundance of family and friends who will lovingly cherish her memory.