Gilda P. Brown

St. Johnsbury, VT – Gilda "Jill" Brown, 80, died peacefully on October 27, 2011, at St. Johnsbury Health & Rehab, with her daughter holding her hand.

Jill was born in Greenwich Village, New York City, on June 16, 1931, to Louis and Palma Bernardini. Although she preferred dancing and "Frankie" Sinatra to school, she attended just often enough to graduate from P.S. 721. After high school, Jill became a member of the Longshoreman's Union (by working in the offices of the Italian Line, a ship company). She also spent time translating Italian films and adding English subtitles to them. Finally, she went to work at Barnes & Noble when there was only one store, on Fifth Avenue in New York. There, she met her husband, George, and they were married in 1956. They lived in a fourth floor walk-up apartment on Bleecker Street until moving to the "country" (Poughkeepsie, NY) in 1961.

She continued to work as a school secretary as they relocated several times for George's job. After living and working in Marcellus, NY, Long Valley, NJ, and finally, Bel Air, MD, Jill retired in 1980. She stayed active as a Eucharistic Minister, sourced food for a Baltimore food bank, volunteered at a hospice thrift shop, and initiated a program called "Beans and Bread" where volunteers baked casseroles for the hungry. She loved music, old black and white films, McDonalds, the 'Can Can Sale' at Shop Rite, and the Dollar Store. She definitely did not love snowy winters, cleaning, cooking, or having to pay full price for anything. Although Jill was 100% Italian, she preferred to think of herself as Irish, and made many trips to Ireland. St. Patrick's Day was her personal "high holy day".

Jill was predeceased by her husband George on September 3rd, 2000. She is survived by her children, Eileen and husband Bryan Turnbull, of Monroe, NH; Stephen and his pigs and chickens, of Newport, TN, and Patrick and his partner, Colleen, of San Antonio, TX. Jill also had two grandsons, Michael of San Antonio, TX, and Misha of Monroe, NH, whom she enjoyed treating to 'anything on the dollar menu!' Most recently, she was thrilled to meet great-granddaughters Olivia and Amelie, who came to visit Jill in St. Johnsbury all the way from England.

After services are complete, we will gather at Jill's home in Bel Air and celebrate her life, no doubt with large amounts of chocolate and coffee, her favorite food and drink.