Mercedes Brown passed away peacefully with her family by her side on Wednesday, October 11, 2023, at Peace Hospice in Great Falls. Mercedes was born in 1931 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. After graduation, she left San Juan for college life in Alabama. She studied hard to get her degree as a dietician where she worked at Lennox Hospital in Manhattan, NY.
It was at Auburn University that Mercedes met the love of her life, Jack Brown. The two married and settled into military life. Mom raised four children while moving out of the country and state to state until retiring in Great Falls, a city and state they both loved.
She joined Gallery 16 in the mid 70’s. There she was able to show her beautiful watercolor paintings and make lifelong friends with the members of the gallery. She entered many paintings into the state fair competition winning Best of Show one year.
She was lovingly called “Grandma Bama” by her youngest grandchildren as she was an avid Auburn Tigers football fan. She knew nothing about football when she came to the states but was told by her college peers that if she wanted to fit in she better figure it out and she did. Mercedes loved Auburn and was able to attend her 65th college reunion where she became a “golden eagle.”
She is survived by her four children and their spouses, Myra and Vic Bortka of San Diego, CA, Richard and Joette Brown of Ulm, Phyllis Brown and Max Bernard of upstate New York, and Carol Brown of Glendale, AZ; grandchildren, Justin and Penny Jarrett of Wyoming, Lindsay Hendrix of Idaho, Ashley Brown of Missoula, and EJ and Mercedes Radina both of Glendale, AZ; great-grandchildren, Morgan and Jack Hendrix of Idaho; several nieces and nephews; and brothers and sisters-in-law.
To read the complete obituary and share condolences, click here to visit the O'Connor Funeral Home website.
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