Helen Mildred Gengler Brown

Helen G. Brown, a devout Mormon and devoted mother, died January 25 in Willow Street, PA after a bout with cancer. She was 92.

Born Helen Mildred Gengler on August 6, 1917 in Egg Harbor, NJ, she excelled at school while working diligently on her parents' farm. While attending school in nearby Mays Landing, she won the regional spelling bee and traveled to Washington, DC for the nationals.

Her father Frank Gengler had immigrated from Luxembourg; her mom, Helene Huss, was a distant relative of Protestant reformationist Jan Huss.

In the mid 1930s they sold the farm and moved to Baltimore. Helen soon became one of the early workers for Social Security.

She met Charles Holton Brown and dated him for several months. On May 13, 1939, the couple told their friends that they were going to attend the Preakness Stakes. They boarded the streetcar heading toward Pimlico Racetrack, but soon transferred to another streetcar that took them to Ellicott City, MD. When they returned to Mr. Brown's residence, they announced to his family they had eloped. Mr. Brown's Aunt Jeannette helped them celebrate by fixing a wedding night dinner of hot dogs and beans.

Mrs. Brown continued to work for Social Security until the birth of her son, Holton, in 1941. She left the workforce and focused on being a housewife and mother to her two sons.

In the late 1950s, Mrs. Brown went back to work. She initially was employed by New Amsterdam Insurance. After a few years, she returned to Social Security, where she remained until her retirement.

They moved to Forest Hill in 1969. She lived there until moving to Willow Street, PA in 2006.

She loved the arts and was an avid painter. She encouraged her children to delve into the arts. The house was decorated with lithographs and etchings by Picasso, Dali, and others.

During their 53 years of marriage, (Mr. Brown passed away in 1992) the Browns traveled the world. They visited Europe twice and visited her ancestral home in Luxembourg. One summer they drove to Alaska. Several times they drove cross country. They visited every state except Michigan.

Mrs. Brown loved being adventurous. From 1954 to 1959, the family spent their summers camping at Elk Neck State Park in Maryland. She loved to tell how the family dealt with nature, animals and hurricanes. At least twice they were evacuated due to approaching hurricanes. She noted that while other campsites had been ripped apart, God protected her and her family.

She was a very proud American. For many years, the Browns were active in Republican politics and friends of Helen Delich Bentley.

In 1982, Mr. & Mrs. Brown were baptized in Church of Latter Day Saints. They soon visited the Tabernacle in Salt Lake, UT. She was very active in church and volunteered for several years assisting at the Washington Temple and the Chesapeake-Bel Air Ward Chapel in Level, MD. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Brown continued her work at the Temple and local Chapel.

She loved giving hugs. She said, "Nothing makes you feel better than a hug."

Mrs. Brown loved seeing smiles and enjoyed helping others. This attitude made her volunteer for a long term Johns Hopkins study on Alzheimer's. "When I die, they will look at my brain and try to figure out why I was so stubborn," she mused.

She is survived by her sons, Holton Franklin Brown of Baltimore and William Patrick Pacer of Atlanta, GA; and by six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.