Anna Maria Brown, 84, of Beaumont died April 14, 2008 at Harbor Hospice House. A native of Genova, Italy, Anna Maria was a resident of Beaumont since 1948.
She is survived by her five children, Christina Gordon and husband John, Margaret Callesto, George W. Brown, III and wife Marci, Joanne Brown, and Anna Lighty and husband Don. She is also survived by her brother, William Albert Rosasco of Castiglione della Pescaia, Italy; and eleven grandchildren, Andrew Brown Gordon, Patrick Forbes Gordon, Leslie George Huber, Mary Margaret Huber, Carolyn Nicole Brown, George W. Brown, IV, Mary Catherine Adams, William Kent Adams, John Hilton Lighty, Matthew Francis Lighty, and William Edwin Lighty. Her husband, George W. Brown, Jr.; brothers, Paul Lewis Rosasco and Charles Henry Rosasco predeceased her.
Anna Maria attended Madames of the Sacred Heart Schools in Italy. The end of World War II and Anna Maria’s dual-citizenship led to frequent trips on one of her father’s ships to the United States. There she met retired Lt. Commander, George Washington Brown, Jr. who she married in Genova, Italy in 1948.
The Browns returned to Beaumont where Anna Maria gave much of her life to her church and to charitable causes: St. Therese Nursery, the Grey Ladies and Advisory Board of Christus Hospital St. Elizabeth, and the Junior League of Beaumont.
Devoted to her church and its causes, Anna Maria was actively involved with St. Pius Church, St. Anne Bell Choir and Parish Council, St. Anne’s Ladies, St. Pius Ladies, and St. Anthony Cathedral Ladies. In 1971, she was invested into The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a papal order and one of the highest honors to be conferred on a Roman Catholic layman. At the time of her death, she held the rank of Lady Grand Cross.
Anna Maria and George gifted their family home as the first Bishop’s residence in Beaumont. The first Diocesan offices of Beaumont were also provided by the Browns. The Browns gifted the Diocese with land for the Holy Family Retreat Center. The gift of their beach house at Caplen provided a place of relaxation for priests and Diocesan staff. Other gifts to the Church included the organ and Pieta statue at St. Anne Church; the organ and bell carillon at St. Anthony Cathedral; the stained glass windows in Infant Jesus Church in Lumberton; additional property abutting Lucas Drive for St. Pius X Church; the chapel in Christus Hospital St. Elizabeth; and the George W. Brown, Jr Tree Plaza at Calder and Phelan Boulevard.
Anna Maria’s gentle strength was an inspiration to all.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 2:00 p.m. Friday, April 18, 2008 at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica. Burial will follow at Magnolia Cemetery under the direction of Broussard’s, 2000 McFaddin, Beaumont. Her eight grandsons will serve as pallbearers. A Christian Vigil will be 7:00 p.m. Thursday evening, April 17, 2008 at the mortuary.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Pius X Catholic Church, 5075 Bigner, Beaumont, Texas 77708 or Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas, 2780 Eastex Freeway, Beaumont, Texas 77706.
The Brown Family expresses heartfelt gratitude to their mother’s caregivers: Rosa Mae Lee, Annie Dent, Rhonda Broussard, Olga Rojo, and Ernestine Frank for their endless love and care in the last years of her life. A special thank-you to Hospice Harbor House for their tenderness and compassion in her last days.
