Deborah Anne Gaventa-Brown

Deborah Anne Gaventa Brown (66) a resident of Atlanta, Georgia, died peacefully on July 24. A fifth generation Floridian, Deborah was born in Tampa and moved during childhood with her family to Tallahassee, graduating from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1977. She enjoyed frequent trips to the Florida beaches and summer travels with her parents and sister during these years, later instilling a love of travel and exploration in her own children.

Deborah was a talented painter and business woman. After obtaining a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1980 from Yale University on scholarship, she moved to New York City where she learned from established artists including Richard Sierra, Frank Stella, Rockne Krebs, and others. She spent summers in Montpelier, Vermont at Goddard College as Artist in Residence, and was Associate Professor of Women’s Studies. In the mid-80s Deborah returned to Florida and served as Director of a non-profit arts center in Tampa/St. Petersburg before embarking on a 20-year career in sales and business with GTE (later Verizon) and AT&T, which she continued when moving to Santa Barbara, CA, where she married and had a family of her own. In 2001, Deborah moved to Atlanta with her three children to be closer to her sister and parents, and upon retiring she found time to again embrace her passion for art and painting.

Deborah was a proud and loving mom who nurtured her children’s interests in art, nature, animals and friendships. Their home was an open door for family, friends, and pets (bunnies, adopted cats, and finally a wonderful dog that Deborah fell in love with). There was always artwork in progress in her open home studio and displays of family photos everywhere. She was also an avid gardener, with sunflowers and native plants attracting butterflies, and fruits and vegetables proliferating in her gardens.

Deborah was a committed champion of women’s rights for over 30 years. At Yale University, she co-organized the Women’s Speakers Bureau, co-founded the Guerilla Girls Art Group and organized the Collective Feminist Women’s Art Exhibition. She coordinated a Feminism and Environmentalism Conference and Exhibition at the University of Massachusetts. At Goddard College, she led the Women’s Visiting Artist Series and organized a Protest Art Installation with the Bread and Puppet Theater. In Atlanta, Deborah volunteered with the New Georgia Project, canvassed for various successful campaigns, and participated in Get Out the Vote and other important efforts.

Deborah will be terribly missed by all who knew and loved her.

Deborah is predeceased by her parents, Harry Reymer and Betty Anne Gaventa. She is survived by her children, Jack, Ayliffe and Nathan Brown; sister Suzanne Gaventa Folger (Gray) and niece Anna Folger; aunt Mary Alice Braukman and cousins Howard and Stacy Braukman; cousins Bill (Beverly) and John (Juliet) Gaventa; and other family members and friends near and far.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Deborah’s honor may be made to Planned Parenthood (plannedparenthood.org), the New Georgia Project (newgeorgiaproject.org), and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (aspca.org).