Born in 1933 in Bibb County, Ga., Joan Jackson Brown passed away Wednesday, July 20th, 2016 in College Park, Ga.
Beloved mother and grandmother, she is preceded in death by her parents, James H. Jackson and Odell Stokes Jackson of Macon.
Married for sixty years to Fayette native Dean Brown, Joan is survived by two sons, David, and his wife, Emily, of Austin, Texas and Alan, and his wife, Cindy, of Atlanta, Ga., as well as three grandchildren: Aaron, Atticus, and Magnolia.
Joan enjoyed a long career in education after graduating with a B.A. (Fine Arts) from the University of Georgia. Upon her marriage to Dean in 1955, the couple briefly lived in Aberdeen, Md., where her husband was stationed in the U.S. Army before returning to Georgia to settle in Fayetteville. Beginning in 1957, Joan Brown taught English and Art at Fayette County High School, where she remained until the birth of her first son in 1962. Shortly after the birth of her second son in 1964, she accepted a position in the Fulton County School System, first as a student counselor at Lakeshore High School in Southwest Atlanta, and, later, at M.D. Collins High School in College Park, Ga., where she served both as counselor and as a senior member of the administrative staff. Upon completion of her master’s degree and her Doctorate in Education at The University of Georgia, Dr. Brown returned to the Fayette County School System. She was assistant principal at the then-new McIntosh High School in Peachtree City, Ga. until her retirement in the mid 1990’s. Dr. Brown was a personal mentor to scores of students, many of whom she kept in contact with throughout her life.
Once officially retired, Dr. Brown became active in her younger son’s commercial business, assisting in the accounting and management of a major retail warehouse and shipping operation.
A lifelong advocate of early reading education, Dr. Brown was an avid lover of literature, notably Southern fiction writers. Her collegiate studies in the visual arts and art history complemented her own passions for pencil and pastel drawing, watercolor, oil painting and interior design. As a youth, Joan studied piano for several years, and, as an adult, played piano at her church. In her rare spare time, she spent afternoons enjoying her collection of classical recordings while reading a selection from her ever-expanding library.
Dr. Brown was a charter member of The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Fayetteville, Ga., teaching Sunday School and serving as Second Reader. Her father’s healing of tuberculosis through Christian Science made her, from an early age, a devout student of the teachings and writings of Mary Baker Eddy. Witnessing her mother’s successful work as a Christian Science practitioner, Dr. Brown enjoyed sharing her own healings with friends, frequently encouraging them with the truths she had learned in her religious study and actively assisting many through various challenges.
Dr. Brown took tremendous pride in the accomplishments of her three grandchildren, and, as an extension of her love of learning, tutored them in subjects ranging from reading and writing to advanced social sciences and fine arts. She found great joy staging elaborate Christmas reunion celebrations for the whole family. Few things brought her as much pleasure as spending time by the water, enjoying friends at her lakefront summer spot, fishing from an ocean pier, going on beachside strolls with her children, or quietly sketching a gulf coast sunset.
The family is quietly celebrating her graceful life and enduring love; no public service is scheduled at this time.
