Annie Brown, devoted mother and church woman, 100

ANNIE BROWN, a devoted wife, mother and great-great grandmother who spent her life as a Christian evangelist and missionary, died Oct. 4. She was 100 years old.

"In the last few days, toward the end of her life, as we gathered around her, all she could say was 'love, love, love,' " said a daughter, Geneva Jones.

She said her mother died of natural causes at the Maplewood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Germantown.

"She was trying to tell us to continue to love one another, to continue to do good."

Mrs. Brown spent most of her life living in Strawberry Mansion and held the position of "Mother" of the former Starlight Holiness Church, on Ridge Avenue in North Philadelphia.

"She was licensed as an evangelist and missionary," Jones said. "She didn't go overseas, but she went around to different cities and states, teaching about her faith. She just did God's work all her life."

Mrs. Brown and her late husband Arthur had 10 children.

"We were raised by the Bible, raised by the Book," Jones said. "You couldn't do anything on a Sunday. It was the Sabbath, the Lord's day. You couldn't even iron."

Before becoming ill and moving into the nursing facility in 2011, Mrs. Brown had been very active, often helping her fellow seniors. She drove them to church, doctors' appointments and took them grocery shopping, Jones said.

Mrs. Brown was the first of two sisters born in Kingstree, S.C., on May 17, 1916, to Idella Hemmingway and William McGee.

She was raised by John and Susan Nesmith and reared with two half-siblings in Williamsburg County, S.C. She attended school up to the eighth grade.

She married Arthur Brown in 1938. For many years, the Browns worked in various factories in Durham, N.C., until they moved to Philadelphia in 1950.

In Philadelphia, Mrs. Brown worked as a domestic for many prominent families.

Jones said the Maplewood Nursing Center staff gave Mrs. Brown a 100th birthday party in May. Then the extended family, who had to come from all over the country, arrived for another birthday celebration on June 4.

Jones said many members of the nursing home staff told the family how much they appreciated Mrs. Brown.

"They started testifying [about] how my mom prayed for them and their families," Jones said. "They said they had pains - one said hers was in the hip, one in the knee, another in the back - and when they came into her room, she would lay her hands on them and pray for them, and they felt better."

In addition to Jones, Mrs. Brown is survived by three other daughters: Ann Washington, Beverly Campbell and Delphine Tiller; three sons: Gabriel, Victor and Gunnell; a sister, Willa Mae Davis; 25 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren and eight great-great grandchildren.

Funeral services are at 10 a.m. Friday at Mt. Airy Church of God and Christ, 6401 Ogontz Ave. Friends may call between 9 and 10 a.m. Burial will be at Chelten Hills Cemetery.