Edith Brown

Lake Junaluska—Edith Hayes Brown, 96, died on Monday, March 13, 2017 at her residence. Born in Lake Wales, Florida, on January 8, 1921, she was the daughter of the late Clifford Bartow Hayes and Beulah Sloan Hayes. She graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, in 1940. She married the Rev. Robert Elmore Brown on October 14, 1947. They had been married 63 years when he died in 2011. She taught high school English in various cities in Florida over a total of 20 years, including Lakeland, Jacksonville, Riviera Beach, and Punta Gorda, before their retirement to Lake Junaluska in 1984. During her retirement, she enjoyed making teddy bears for her daughter and other relatives and friends. She is survived by her son, the Reverend Robert Clifford Brown (Becky) of New Smyrna Beach, Florida; daughter, Carol Jean Brown, of Lake Junaluska; three grandsons, Wesley Rutland-Brown (Natalie), of Davis, California; Robert Rutland-Brown (Grace), of Springfield, Virginia; Randy Rutland-Brown, of New Smyrna Beach, Florida; great-granddaughters Lucca and Sienna, of Davis, California; great-grandson Robert James and great-granddaughter Isabel Lita of Springfield, Virginia. A private family burial service will be in Green Hill Cemetery in Waynesville on Wednesday, March 15. Memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church of Waynesville or to Lake Junaluska Assembly.