Rena Elizabeth Mason Brown (Mimi) was born in Ashland, Mississippi, and attended Memphis Tech High School in Memphis, Tennessee. Thereafter, she married Earnest Brown, who was attending college to become a pharmacist. Shortly after graduation, they moved to Grand Prairie, Texas, where they raised four children; Stephen Perry, Greg, Lauren, and Wendell. After many years of raising children, Rena embarked on a new career working at Fleming Industries. Upon retirement, she and Earnest loved spending time with their grandchildren, traveling the world, and volunteering with the Red Cross in the pharmacy at the Joint Reserve Military Base during Desert Storm. Rena also volunteered as an Ombudsman serving the elderly.
After the passing of her beloved husband, Earnest, she loved spending time with her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and large extended family, many of whom considered her a second mother. Her gentle kind-hearted spirit touched many of those who knew her. She was a very caring, sweet, and loveable person. Rena was always eager to cook a meal for someone and pitch in any capacity during many family gatherings. She loved to cook and her famous dishes will be sorely missed.
She later married Pete Brookshire, to whom she was married for 10 years. They also shared a passion for traveling the world.
Rena passed away peacefully on February 10, 2024, surrounded by the family she loved so much. She was preceded in death by her husband, Earnest Brown, her son Stephen Perry, her second husband Pete Brookshire, her parents Ada and Edmund Mason, sisters and brother-in-laws Lil and Pinky Cohen, Georgia and Jim Naylor, and Seneth and Bob Shegena.
Rena leaves behind her sons Greg and Wendell (Susan) Brown, her daughter Lauren (Bob) O'Brien, her sisters Shirley Smith, Esther Barrett, and brother-in-law James Barrett. She leaves behind 11 grandchildren; Travis, Troy, Amethyst, Aleah, Rachael, Natalie, Aaron, Brian, Will, Maureen, and Cameron. She also leaves behind 12 great-grandchildren.
