Obituary of Barbara Jeanne Brown
Barbara Jeanne Brown went home to be with her Lord and Savior on February 29, 2020. She was 80 years old.
Born and raised in Detroit, MI, to parents Frederick and Marjorie (nee Durkin) Sourbeck, Barbara lived in many places including Franklin Lakes and Maplewood, NJ, Annapolis and Bethesda, MD, and her winter residence in Bradenton, FL before settling at Brightview Senior Living in Randolph, NJ just three years ago. She was a devout Catholic and a parishioner of St. Matthews Church in Randolph, as well as St. Mary’s in Annapolis and Our Lady of Sorrows in South Orange over the years.
Barbara was always helping someone, and adored people. She loved greeting neighbors and their dogs as they walked by her waterfront home on the Chesapeake Bay. Her love of art led her to become a docent at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC. She enjoyed traveling to Europe and Asia with her husband. Her biggest joy was her family, especially her grandchildren and her great grandchildren. Barbara was always praying for those she loved, and she loved everyone she met.
Barbara is predeceased by her high school sweetheart and loving husband of 34 years, the late John P. Brown, and her brother Frederick Sourbeck. She is survived by her daughters Pamela (Steve) Jablonski of Milton, PA, Julie (Charles Jantelle ) Edmunds of Clark, NJ, and Kelly (Geoffrey) Varga of Randolph, NJ, her beloved sisters Karen Beck of Milford, MI and Joanne West of Bradenton, FL, her dear friend of 76 years Judy Nay O’Connor, her grandchildren Joshua, Caleb, Julianna, Samuel, Emma, Katja, Conor, Bebhinn, Jack, Emery, Owen, six great grandchildren, and her adoring Miniture Schnauzer Bailey.
A visitation will be held on Wednesday, March 4, from 3:30-6:00 PM at the Bailey Funeral Home, 8 Hilltop Rd, Mendham NJ. A Funeral Mass will take place March 5, at 10:30 AM at St. Matthew the Apostle Parish, 335 Dover Chester Rd, Randolph, NJ. Burial will be on Friday, March 6th at 2pm, at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring, MD. In lieu of flowers, donations in Barbara’s memory may be made to Northumberland Christian School, 351 5th Street, Northumberland, PA. 17857.
