Nancy D. Brown

Nancy D. (Doyle) Brown, age 99, passed away peacefully in her Walpole, Massachusetts home on Saturday, October 19, 2019, surrounded by her loving family.  Born in Flushing, New York on October 3, 1920, she was the daughter of the late George F. and Anna (McCarthy) Doyle.  She spent her early years in Great Neck, attending St. Aloysius Grammar School, before settling in Little Neck in 1933, where she attended St. Anastasia Grammar School.  Nancy later enrolled in St. Bartholomew’s High School before graduating from Bayside High School with the Class of 1938.  Following graduation, Nancy attended Queen’s College for two years, transferring to Mt. St. Vincent College, earning her bachelor’s degree in 1942, with a focus on English.  While attending college, Nancy found her love for acting, starring in various theater productions, including the lead role in “Jane Eyre.”  Nancy took her first job with Fairchild Aviation, working as a clerk and later a personnel interviewer after her graduation.

 

Nancy was faced with the difficult decision of whether to pursue her acting career or concentrate on starting a family.  She quickly decided on the later, marrying Robert W. Brown on September 17, 1944.  The young couple made their home together in Little Neck, however they lived in several locations, including Cleveland, Ohio, Yonkers, New York, and Cumberland, Maryland, while they welcomed their four children.  When living in Cumberland, Nancy took a position teaching kindergarten.  In 1957, she and Robert returned to Flushing, New York, where in the mid-1960s, Nancy took a position with St. Mary’s Nativity Grammar School, teaching both science and religion.  She taught her students for 19 years before her retirement in the mid-1980s. 

 

Toward the end of her teaching career, Nancy and Robert found their love for adventure trips, taking time to backpack, camp, canoe, and hike their way through the wilderness of New York, New Hampshire, Maine, and Canada.  While they enjoyed being away on their various trips, Nancy’s deep love for her family always brought her back home.  She spent several years caring for her in-laws and later her own father.  However, after her father passed away, Nancy and Robert were ready for a change.  They packed up their home in New York and moved to the small town of Walpole, Massachusetts, settling in their new Royal Crest community, in order to be close to her son’s family in Dedham.  In her new community, Nancy took on a active role in her church, Blessed Sacrament Parish, serving as a lector, leading the organization of the Prayer Group alongside Sister Anne, and singing with the church choir as well as with the funeral choir.

 

Throughout Nancy’s life, she loved staying active.  As a young girl, she realized her swimming abilities while visiting the ocean with her family, this love of swimming carried through her entire life, as she was delighted to find a pool at Royal Crest.  Golf was a second love of Nancy’s, she and Robert played countless rounds together, which became even easier after settling at Royal Crest, as they were only steps from the community’s golf course.  While she stayed active, Nancy enjoyed her quiet time as well, spending many hours over the years composing poems which were later published into her poetry anthology titled “A Collection of Poems.”  Reading was a big part of Nancy’s life and she loved the opportunity to meet with her friends in the Royal Crest Book Club.  Most of all, Nancy loved being surrounded by her family and looked forward to the holidays, when she would play her piano, providing beautiful music for everyone to enjoy.

 

Beloved wife of the late Robert W. Brown.

Loving mother of Peter L. Brown and his wife, Carol, of Norwell, Ann M. Buckland and her husband, Richard, of Devon, England, the late Robert C. Brown, and the late Patricia Brown.

Cherished grandmother of Oriana C. Buckland and Ryan C. Brown, step grandmother of Orlando, Gabriella, and Eleanor Buckland, and step great grandmother of six.

Sister of the late George Doyle, and sister-in-law to Muriel Doyle.

Also survived by many nieces and nephews.

 

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend Nancy’s Life Celebration on Wednesday, October 23, 2019 from 4 to 8 PM and Thursday, October 24, 2019 from 9 to 9:30 AM in the James H. Delaney & Son Funeral Home, 48 Common Street, Walpole.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in Blessed Sacrament Church, 10 Diamond Street, Walpole on Thursday, October 24, 2019 at 10:00 AM.  Interment will follow in Saint Francis Cemetery in Walpole.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Christopher’s Inn, P.O. Box 303, Garrison, NY 10524.