Obituary of Paula Brown

The magnetic force that is Paula Brown passed away peacefully May 16 at the age of 83. She was a light to those who knew her, and she never lost her contagious smile, deep faith, and love for her family, friends and neighbors.

Paula was born in Worcester, MA to parents Paul and Elizabeth Powers. She spent her early days visiting family on Cape Cod and following her older sister Penny anywhere she’d let her. She also received her first set of art supplies at age nine, setting off a lifelong love and vocation in the arts.

In high school, she met Jerry Brown, her future husband and father to the lights of her life: her four children. They were married in 1963, in a beautiful ceremony in Toledo, OH. Just a year later, they welcomed their first daughter, Kristen. Daughters Kelly and Holly followed, and then finally, they rounded out their family of six with their first son, Paul.

Beyond family, Paula was a devoted and caring nurse who shared her talents with hundreds of patients through her work as a home health and hospice nurse. She had a love for helping those around her and was generous with her time and energy. On the other side of her passions, Paula shared her creative prowess with the world in the form of hundreds of paintings. As an incredibly talented artist, she often traveled to showcase her works at art shows, and many of her family and friends have her signature stamped on work throughout their homes.

As she got older, Paula spent as much time as she could with her friends and three grandchildren: Samantha, Casey and Eleadora. She could be found on the sidelines or in the crowd of nearly every school event, or if she couldn’t make it in person, the first to call after to find out how things went.

In nearly all aspects of her life Paula radiated joy. She loved annual outings to the state fair, desserts of any kind (but especially coffee ice cream), trips to Cape Cod, drives through Grand Marais, Hallmark Movies, Christmastime celebrations, Sundays at her church, painting and drawing, homemade mac and cheese, and spending as much time as humanly possible around her people. She was a force to be reckoned with and fast friends to anyone lucky enough to meet her.

She will be dearly missed by her loving family, children Kristen Brown, Kelly (and Christopher) Cusick, Holly Brown and Paul Brown (and Christina Wagner), along with her grandchildren Samantha (and Alex) Caffentzis, Casey Cusick, and Eleadora Wagner-Brown.

The family welcomes anyone who would like to celebrate Paula’s life at the Party for Paula, hosted at Cedar United Methodist Church on Thursday, May 22, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Please bring your favorite stories about Paula, and be prepared to share in some of her favorite things, including her precious coffee ice cream.

Flowers will be accepted, or memorial donations may be made to Lillehei Heart Institute.