Obituary: Nancy Ann Brown

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Nancy Ann Brown

Quilcene, Wash.

Oct. 7, 1927 – Feb. 14, 2017

Nancy Ann (Garrett) Brown passed from this mortal earth on Feb.14, 2017. She was born Oct. 7, 1927 in Westport, Conn. Her family moved to Quilcene, Wash. in the late 1930s. Nancy graduated from Quilcene High School in 1944. She later met and then married Richard Steven Brown on June 28, 1947. Richard (Dick) predeceased Nancy, passing away October 1998.

Together they had four children: Carol, Kathy (who passed away in 1954), Gail and Paul. While Washington state was their immediate home, in 1960 the family moved to Skagway, Alaska. Later, in 1967, the family relocated to Fairbanks, Alaska. It was in Fairbanks that Nancy enjoyed a career as the chief financial officer at a local car dealership and a rich involvement in local politics.

Nancy was the first woman to be on the general election ballot for the state House of Representatives. Later she was the local school board president during the massive growth of Fairbanks as a result of the construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline. Today, no less than four schools have a plaque acknowledging Nancy as being a fundamental part of maintaining a robust school system during the pipeline construction.

In the mid-1980s Dick and Nancy returned to Port Townsend, Wash. where Nancy was an Officer and Director of Alaska Power and Telephone Company, a business her father founded in 1948. After Dick’s passing, Nancy moved to Edmonds, Wash. where she enjoyed the company of family, friends, her church and traveling the world. This active and independent lifestyle diminished in 2015 with heath issues taking a toll. From 2015 to the day of her passing, Nancy had moved back over to the Quilcene area to be closer to her daughters. She died peacefully in her sleep on Valentine’s Day. A life well lived, full of adventure, family, love, and the Lord.

A Memorial Celebration will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 4, 2017 at the Quilcene Assembly of God.