Mary Ellen Brown

Mary Ellen Brown, age 94, passed away May 19, 2024 at White Horse Village in Newtown Square PA.   

She was born November 8^th 1929 in Montclair (Glen Ridge) NJ, the 8^th child of Ben H. Smith and Ella Mae Skelton. All her siblings are pre-deceased: Virginia (Firman), Ben, Marion (Peterson), Elouise (Anderson), David, Robert and Nancy (Heirholzer).

At Bloomfield high school she was in a sorority called BIKI. She then graduated from Berkeley Secretarial school in NYC and worked as a bi-lingual secretary for Colgate-Palmolive in NYC on a South American account. August 23, 1952, she married Alex T. Brown after a courtship of 6 months. She became the beloved mother of 5 children: Paul, Mark, Phil, Russ and Pam. Alex was an electrical engineer for ITT Defense Communications that required work in other countries. The family lived in Seoul Korea for several months and Frankfurt Germany for four years. They enjoyed travel to many other countries, often for ski holidays.  

After returning to the states and children were older, Mary Ellen became a bilingual legal secretary for Robert Altshuler Esq. in Wayne NJ. She was a very active member of the United Methodist Church in Wayne, singing in choir, helping with finances and volunteering. She even went on a missionary trip to Cuba. 

She was a “people person”, who was always friendly and generous to all. She hosted eight Rotary exchange students from all over the world. After Alex passed away in 2005, she moved to PA near Pam and two of her grandkids. Melvin Green joined her at White Horse Village (WHV) retirement community and she enjoyed many happy years with him. Mary Ellen was active in the WHV choir, quilting club, bluebird preservation group, volunteering and attended Willistown United Methodist. 

She will be missed by all her children, their spouses and her grandchildren: Lyana, Mitch, Eric and Brenda. She was devoted to her family, United Methodist Church and will always be in our hearts. 

Service June 1, 11am at United Methodist Church Wayne NJ.  

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to American Cancer Society or Alzheimer’s Association.