Mary Frances Brown

Mary Frances Allen Brown, a beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed from this life on May 14, 2024. Mary was born on April 1, 1937, to the late Floyd Lee and Emma Lee Allen. She was the oldest of three daughters. She grew up in Virginia Beach and attended Seatack Elementary School and Kempsville High School. At an early age, she attended St. Mark AME Church with her grandfather, Mr. Robert L. Gregory.

At sixteen, she met her future husband, Mr. Audrick Dale Brown Sr., who was in the U.S. Army. At eighteen, Mary married Mr. Brown on December 2, 1955. From that union, four children were born: Audrick Jr., Francine, Anthony, and Theodore Brown. They resided in Washington, D.C., where Mr. Brown started his own business. When her marriage to Mr. Brown ended, Mary was determined to do her best to provide for her children. She went back to school to continue her education at Martha Washington School. Upon graduation, she went on to work for the US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as an Executive Secretary.

 As a single mother, she continued to raise her four children in Washington, D.C.

Mary retired after 27 ½ years of service from NOAA. Upon her retirement, she relocated back to Virginia Beach and rejoined St. Mark AME Church, where she served as a faithful member of the Senior Choir, the Ladies in Red, and the noon-day Bible study.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, her two sisters, Harriet Lee Lewis and Sylvia Faye Baxter, and her two brothers-in-law, Robert Lee Lewis and Sheppard Baxter. She is survived by her four children: Audrick D. Brown Jr. of Maryland, Francine A. McCullough (Kenneth) of NC, Dr. Anthony H. Brown of Maryland, and Theodore P. Brown of Bowling Green, VA. She also leaves behind three surrogate children: Audrick D. Brown III, Jonathan Brown, and Alicia Dent; seven grandchildren: Renita (Jonathan), Audrick IV (U’tonna), Valicia, Maximilian, Theodore Jr., Mary, and Pheonix; six great-grandchildren: Jermaine, Nina, Konstanio, Sofia, Isaiah, and Aliya; one aunt, Louise G. Felton; one Goddaughter, Sonja Jenkins; and a host of nieces, nephews, family, and friends who she loved dearly.