Helen Cochran Brown, 91, of Brooks, Ga., passed away March 20, 2014.
She is survived by her loving husband of 68 years, Joe L. Brown; their children – Mike & Phyllis Brown, Cheryl & Jim Burchfield, Ted & Penny Brown, and Terri & Alex Cohilas. Also, their grandchildren – Michael & Katy Brown, Kelly & Bob Anderson, Ryan & Jake Kunz, Joshua & Jennifer McCullough, Elizabeth & Ed Chao, Tyler Brown and Trent Brown; nine great-grandchildren – Colby, Alex, Reed, Helen, Carly, Gracie, Samuel, Parker and Brooklyn; a sister – Reba Watkins; and many nieces and nephews.
A devoted wife and mother, Helen was born March 11, 1923, to Joe and Ruth Cochran of Stonewall, Ga. Her first job was with the Atlanta Paper Company in Atlanta. After Joe returned from his tour of duty in Europe, they married on December 16, 1945, and started a family.
Helen was a stay-at-home mom – cooking, sewing, painting and decorating their home, gardening, doing lots of volunteer work in the schools and community while their children were growing up. She also worked in the church nursery and taught Sunday school at Second Baptist Church in College Park, where they were members for many years.
When their children were grown, Helen went back to work outside the home at Rich’s department store until they moved from College Park to Brooks in the 1970s. After moving to Brooks, the Browns found a new church home at Lisbon Baptist in Fayetteville and Helen joined the Brooks Homemaker’s Club. She also played an important role in the lives of her grandchildren, who loved spending time with their Mema. She was well known by family and friends for her cooking — particularly her cakes, pies, cobblers and biscuits.
Joe and Helen enjoyed traveling the world with many of their friends and neighbors. They toured Europe, the Holy Land, Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia, in addition to traveling the United States from the east to the west.
A funeral service was held Sunday, March 23, 2014 at 3 p.m. at the Chapel of Mowell Funeral Home, Fayetteville. The burial followed at Holly Hill Memorial Park, Fairburn. The family received friends Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m. at the funeral home.
Carl J. Mowell & Son Funeral Home, Fayetteville – www.mowellfuneralhome.com
