Christine (“Chris”) Brown – Brownlie Maxwell (2024)

Born October 7, 1952 in Chicago, Illinois
Departed August 4, 2024 in Palm Bay, Florida

Christine (“Chris”) Brown (née Dearing), aged 71, passed away peacefully on August 4, 2024, in Palm Bay, Florida. She was born on October 7, 1952, in Chicago, Illinois, together with her twin sister, Vicki. For the first 30 years of her life, Chris lived in Woodside, Illinois, and then Chicago, Illinois, except for short stints in London, England and Quantico, Virginia. Her childhood and adolescence were spent with parents John Clifford and Victoria Dearing and siblings John, Loree, and Vicki. She married in 1978 and moved in 1982 to Houston, Texas with her husband. Upon her husband’s retirement in 2012, the couple moved to Indialantic, Florida, where they lived until Chris’s death.

Chris has led a varied life. After high school, she enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where she served two years and left with the rank of Private, First Class. Since she was always highly religious and had close relationships with many nuns and priests, she joined the Mother Teresa convent in London, England. After about a year, she returned to the United States and worked at Bell Electric for a short period. Realizing that she needed further education to advance her career, Chris enrolled in Malcolm X College, part of the City Colleges of Chicago. For a while, she managed the near impossible task of taking 18 semester hours of course work while working full-time to support herself.

It was during that time that she met her future husband, who was then a teacher at Malcolm X College. After marriage and the birth of her first child, Chris gave up her career plans for a while but returned to school when her second child was three. She received her BSN (Bachelor of Science n Nursing) degree in 1989 from Texas Women’s University and went on to a long and successful career as a nurse, with positions in Methodist Hospital and Memorial-Hermann Hospitals in Houston, work as a school nurse for Houston and Alief Independent school districts, and a short stint in home health as an Assistant Nursing Director.

While at Tijerina Elementary School in Houston Independent School District, she was an active participant in several organizations in the surrounding community and took a major role in the yearly Navidad celebration. Largely because of these activities, she was a runner-up for the Houston ISD School Nurse of the Year. She continued her service beyond the work environment by being a member for many years of the “Sick Puppies”, the Medical Unit for the annual Texas MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Bike Tour from Houston to Austin. The MS Bike Tour, which hosts events in multiple cities, is the 7th largest charity cycling series in the country.

She was a long-time and active member of Holy Name of Jesus Church in Indialantic, where she formed many treasured friendships.

Chris was the beloved wife of David Cory Brown whom she married on married April 1, 1978, and a loving mother to Cory Robert Brown and Dottie Jean Brown. She was also a proud grandmother to Grace Brown. She managed major responsibilities for her family with her career, sometimes working 16-hour night shifts to be available for her family during the daytime hours. In her last two and one-half years, the primary focus of her life was her grandchild Grace, buying her multiple toys and outfits and spending as much time as possible with her. Grace was always eager to go to “Ahma’s house” and play with “Ahma.”

Chris was preceded in death by her parents Clifford and Victoria; her brother John Jr.; and her cousin Edward. During Eddie’s last few years, she travelled frequently to Tampa to check on him and provide whatever small items he needed. She is survived by her husband David of 46 years and her two children.

Chris was unbelievably generous, unselfish, and loving. There was a long stream of pets – dogs, cats, ferrets, and one rabbit and turtle – on which she lavished incredible devotion. When she died, she had passed up a trip to Hawaii to care for an aging ferret. Her spirit of giving extended to people. On multiple occasions, she welcomed people who had no place to go into her home for extended periods. In keeping with her spirit of generosity, contributions to the memory of Chris may be made to your favorite charity.

Family and friends will celebrate her life on Thursday, August 15, 2024 at the Brownlie-Maxwell Funeral Home, 1010 E. Palmetto Avenue, Melbourne at 11 am. Chris’s life will be celebrated and remembered for the profound impact she had on those around her, leaving a legacy of love and service.