Doretha Brown

Funeral Service honoring the life of Doretha Brown will be held Saturday, January 20, 2017, 11:00 AM, at Asbury United Methodist Church, Franklin, LA Pastor Darlene Moore will officiate the service.

The family has requested that visitation be Saturday, January 20, 2017, from 9:00AM-11:00AM, at Asbury United Methodist Church.

She will be interred in Pecot Street Cemetery.

"A Woman for the Ages"
Doretha Brown was born in rural St. Mary Parish and at age 11 her family moved to Franklin, LA. She was the daughter of Johnny Brown, Sr. and Viola Drexler Brown. She was the last survivor of the eight siblings.

Doretha earned her high school diploma from the former Willow Street School and her Bachelors of Arts Degree in Elementary Education from Dillard University with honors. She completed her graduate studies program at Scarritt College in Nashville, TN. She taught at Sager Brown Elementary in Baldwin, LA for two years. She began her work as a commissioned United Methodist missionary in October 1960 in Monrovia, Liberia. She chose Africa as the country to continue her teaching career because she felt that there was a "great need for teachers" and she also wanted to see the world in which she fondly referred to as her "land of ancestry." During her tenure in Africa, Doretha worked as the Director of the Ganta Hostel for Girls in Monrovia. She taught girls ranging from elementary to college age. She was the recipient of several seed grants and awards in education which helped her to continue her post-graduate studies. Also, these grants/awards provided her with an opportunity to do working visits in other regions of the world including Great Britain, Australia, Canada, France, Spain as well as neighboring countries within the African continent. She participated and worked with many leaders in Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone to promote the interests of local communities, churches and schools on a nationwide basis.

Doretha remained in Liberia for 38 years and returned to America due to political and social unrest. In 2010, she was honored by the Louisiana Conference United Methodist Women for 50 years of service to the mission and for the work she did with children worldwide. Also, in 2010, The Doretha Brown Mission Youth Scholarship Fund was set up in her honor to award deserving students who expressed an interest in the mission programs sponsored by the Louisiana Conference United Methodist Women. Later, she became a member of the Asbury United Methodist Church Ad-Hoc History Committee which was set up to preserve historical church documents dating back to 1890 to eventually be placed on the internet for public research. Also, she is one of the missionaries featured in the book, Return to Africa, A Journal by Ester L. Megill for her work in Liberia from 1968-1980.

Doretha was an advocate for education and was tireless in her pursuit to teach everyone she encountered. She had a deep love for reading and language arts. She had a professional working proficiency in many languages including French, Spanish and three indigenous African languages. She believed that "language" was fundamental to all facets of life and that children who did not learn to read proficiently were greatly disadvantaged throughout their lives. As an educator, Doretha believed that teaching should not be limited only to the classroom, but every space a child entered.

Her love of God was paramount in her life. She was a member of Asbury United Methodist Church in Franklin, Louisiana throughout her life. She dearly loved her church family and attended for as long as she was physically able to do so. She loved both her family at home and in Liberia. She often spoke of them in the fondest terms. Her proudest and happiest moments were those she shared with them.

Doretha leaves to cherish her memory an adopted daughter, Shirley Phillips Steward of Jeanerette, LA and her children Hershal Phillips, Krystal Phillips, and K'wan Steward with whom she spent the last seven years of her life. She is also survived by her neices: Hendri Brown of Marrero, LA, Jewel Lynn Thompson of Harvey, LA, Yeil Thompson of Beaumont, TX, Johneice Brown and Yolanda M.Turner and her sister-in-law, Clara Bell Brown all of Franklin, LA. She also leaves a host of cousins, other relatives and devoted friends both here and in Africa.
She is preceded in death by her parents Johnny Brown, Sr. and Viola Drexler Brown, her siblings: Johnny Brown, Jr., George Brown, Albertha Brown Hilliard, Anna Brown Rhein, Beatrice Brown Smith, Carolyn Brown Turner, and Helen Brown Logan; her devoted aunts Callie Brown, Elma Brown, Katherine Brown, Anna Metz, Daisey Broussard, and uncle Oscar Drexler, Jr.

MK DIXON Funeral Home is in charge of final arrangements, 211 Main Street, Baldwin, LA 70514, (337) 940-9253, www.mkdixonfh.com