Mary Marilyn Brown, 85, of Lincoln, passed away on Monday, February 13, 2012. She was born May 1, 1926 in Sioux City, Iowa. She attended Hawthorne grade school (Kindergarten and grades 1-6), Woodrow Wilson Junior High (grade 7) and Leeds Junior High School (grades 8-12) where she graduated with honors in June, 1944. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Union College in 1951 with majors in Secretarial Science and English and a minor in Education. Her Master of Science degree in education was earned at Indiana University in Bloomington in 1961. Her Doctorate in Education from the University of Nebraska was received in 1974. Each of the three degrees was bestowed with honors from the major department. Her doctoral dissertation was titled, “A Proposed Curriculum for Medical Record Transcriptionists.”
Marilyn served as chairperson of the Secretarial Department at Canadian Union College in Lacombe, Alberta, for seven years and at Antillean Union College in Puerto Rico for three years. She also taught English and business and secretarial and business education classes at Union College for 14 years where she supervised and evaluated student teachers, some of whom also taught in public schools in Lincoln. In addition, she served as a secretary in the Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska conferences and at the Christian Record Braille Foundation (now known as Christian Record Services).
Upon official retirement on July 1, 1987, she accepted the invitation of Christian Record Services to serve as copy editor, then as editor of two large-print magazines: Lifeglow and Young and Alive. Counting full-time and part-time service, she has worked over 47 years for the Seventh-day Adventist denominations. Her memberships in professional organizations included Delta Pi Epsilon (honorary graduate fraternity in business education), Pi Lamda Theta (honorary fraternity in education, and administration management society).
Her church activities included serving as Senior Sabbath School superintendent, secretary, teacher, deaconess, and as a member of the public relations committees of churches in Canada and the United States. Marilyn’s hobbies included writing, flower gardening, and oil painting.
Survivors include numerous nieces and nephews, and grand nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her father, Clifford Brown, mother, Mary Helen Brown, sister, Dorothy Brown, brothers, Allan Brown, Floyd Brown and Donald Brown, step-mother, Emma Moser Brown, and step-sister, Deane Moser Shay.
Marilyn’s faith in the coming of Jesus was strong and firm. One of her favorite songs was “I Know Whom I Have Believed.” Two of her favorite texts are 1 John 4:8 “God is love,” and Daniel 12:3 “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.”
Funeral service: 10 a.m. Friday (2-17-12) College View Seventh-day Adventist Church, 4801 Prescott Ave. Pastor Terry Bock, officiating. Burial in College View Cemetery. Visitation one hour prior to service time at the church.
Memorials to College View SDA Church, 4801 Prescott Ave. (06), Union College, 3800 South 48th (06) or Christian Record Services, 4444 S. 54th (16).