A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 7th, at Snow’s Memorial Chapel, 1419 Bass Road, Macon, GA, with Dr. Bob Moon officiating. The family will receive guests at 1:00 p.m.
Patty graduated from Hot Springs High School (Arkansas) in 1971. She then completed her bachelor’s degree in Clothing, Textiles, and Interior Design at the University of Alabama, where she established strong lifelong friendships and first met the love of her life and devoted husband, Jim Brown.
Patty received her life and health insurance licenses in 1976, and in her first position, she was one of only two insurance saleswomen nationwide for the company. The early adversity she experienced inspired her to break many barriers in the industry and uplift other women by her example.
By 1983, Patty founded Heart of Georgia Insurance Brokers, the first life and health brokerage company in Macon. Shortly thereafter, she earned her Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Registered Health Underwriter (RHU), and Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow (LUTCF) professional designations.
Patty served as past president and first female president of many insurance industry organizations, including the National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors (NAIFA) Georgia, Insurance and Financial Leaders of the Southeast, and Georgia Association of Health Underwriters, and was the first president and founder of the Macon Association of Health Underwriters.
Patty received the George M. Conner Memorial Award for Outstanding Service from NAIFA Georgia and was twice awarded Agent of the Year by the Macon Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors. She also served as a consultant on the Georgia Insurance Commissioner’s Health Insurance Advisory Committee and was a member of many other industry groups and committees.
Outside of the insurance industry, she was past president of the Macon Alpha Delta Pi Alumnae Association, served on the Student Affairs Leadership Council at the University of Alabama, and chaired the committee for awarding the Joseph P. Crawford Memorial Scholarship to high school seniors.
Patty was also a member of Martha Bowman Memorial United Methodist Church, the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce, the Better Business Bureau, the Macon Estate Planning Council, and the President’s Roundtable of the Macon Museum of Arts and Sciences, among others.
In her spare time, Patty was a talented interior designer and enjoyed finding unique pieces to match her personal style. She loved decorating her spaces with animal themes and lucky visitors would see her “Monkey Room” at the beach or her “Bunny Room” at home, with hundreds of bunnies! While her son Chris was young, “Mother Bunny” loved to host theme parties, especially her annual Easter egg hunts.
Patty also loved traveling with Jim and Chris, exploring more than 35 countries. Her favorite country to visit was Italy, especially the Amalfi Coast, where she collected colorful pottery designs. Wherever she traveled, sightseeing and shopping were her favorite activities; however, she was always thinking of others, and would return bearing gifts for friends and “her girls” at Heart of Georgia Insurance Brokers.
She was preceded in death by her parents, John Freeman Beal and Vietta Ann Angier Beal, sister, Judith Ann Beal Owings Calderwood, and niece, Deborah Kay Owings. Patty leaves her husband, James Lowell Brown, son, Christopher Lowell Beal Brown (Nury), nephew, Gregory Thomas Owings (Robin) and children, cousin, Carolyn Burgess and daughters, godchildren, and many close friends.
In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to the Joseph P. Crawford Memorial Scholarship. Please make checks payable to Image Builders Foundation, 677 Main Street, Suwanee, GA 30024.
Visit www.snowsmacon.com to express tributes.
Snow’s Memorial Chapel, Bass Road, has charge of arrangements.
