Joan Brown Young

She was born May 17, 1928, in Pittsburgh, to Robert Girard Brown and Lucy Martha Brown.

She married "her Marine," Shannon Eden Young, on July 13, 1946, in Washington, D.C. They made their home in his hometown of Houston. She wanted a large family since she had been an only child, and she was blessed with nine children – six boys and three girls.

She was actively involved with her children and volunteered her time in their activities. She was a Scout den mother and Brownie troop leader and drove to many dance recitals, gymnastic competitions, swim lessons and sports practices. She listened patiently as her children learned to play the trombone, bagpipes, drums and harp. (Her love of bagpipes endured.) She sewed many Easter dresses, dance costumes, kilts, Halloween costumes and anything else needed. As PTA president, she arranged for the county to regularly send a bookmobile to nearby rural neighborhoods, to encourage the children to develop a love for reading.

Education was important to her, so when Joan and Shannon moved to Bellaire, Texas, they prioritized their budget to send their children to nearby St. Thomas Episcopal Church and School. They prioritized again to make sure all of their children had the opportunity to go to college. Then, in 1972, she had the opportunity to follow her dream of becoming a nurse. She sent her youngest to “Grandma School” while she studied at Hermann Hospital School of Vocational Nursing, graduating third in her class. She became a licensed vocational nurse in October 1972, passing the State Board exam with high marks. She worked at Hermann Hospital for four years. She later worked as a private-duty home care nurse.

While in Houston, she was active in the St. Thomas Episcopal Church Women’s Guild and taught Vacation Bible School. After her husband’s job transferred them to Austin, they attended Resurrection Episcopal Church and then St. Augustine’s Church in Pflugerville, Texas. At church, she found new friends and continued her spiritual journey, one that was very important to her.

As her children got older, she expanded her own interests, often with the desire to help others. She volunteered with the Williamson County Crisis Center and with the Literacy Council of Williamson County, teaching literacy to women in jail. She attended sewing classes, using her improved skills to make herself a fabulous wardrobe. She learned to paint and arrange flowers and belly dance. She enjoyed a good political discussion whenever possible and was active in local politics calling people, working at the polls, and attending caucuses as a delegate.

After her children started their own families, she never missed an opportunity to take children and grandchildren to fun and educational places – zoos, wildlife ranches, museums and an educational pioneer farm. Because her mother and aunt had done genealogical research for many years, providing a wealth of information about her ancestry, Joan, a lover of history, became a member of several genealogical organizations. She joined the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Texas Huguenot Society, Women Descendants of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, and the Williamson County Genealogical Society.

As she grew older and her community became a little smaller, she focused her service, dedicating herself to caring for her husband as he experienced dementia. They both had a sharp sense of humor, and she enjoyed telling a good joke, or even a bad one, to anyone who would listen. She also enjoyed a good TV show, with the volume and the thermostat turned up high. As a survivor of multiple bouts of cancer and chemo, she was always a little cold, except in her heart.

Joan passed away peacefully at the Auberge memory care facility, surrounded by family, love and music.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Lucy Martha Brown and Robert Girard Brown; her husband, Shannon Eden Young, Sr.; her son, Stephen Allen Young; her granddaughter, Karen Elizabeth Taylor; and her son-in-law, Roy Moreno.

She is survived by her children Shannon Eden Young, Jr. (and Patrice), Robin Young Goza (and Jim), Phillip Kevin Young (and Linda), Carol Young Moreno, Cherie Lynn Young (and Gene), Gary Robert Young (and Paty), Thomas Christopher Young, Larry Keith Young (and Amy), and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

We want to thank the staff at Auberge and Valerian Home Health for their loving care of our mother.