Submitted by: Dan Rich

Lillian J. Brown

July 19, 1922 - March 20, 2003

South Bend Tribune 3/23/2003

Lillian J. Brown, 80, of East Lincoln Way, Mishawaka, Ind., passed away after an extended illness at 11:40 p.m. on Thursday, March 20, in her home. She will be remembered for her strength of character and sense of humor, and will live on in the hearts of those who love her. Mrs. Brown was born on July 19, 1922, in South Bend, Ind., as the daughter of the late Ralph L. and Bertha L. (Mangold) Sechrist. She was also preceded in death by a sister, Margaret J. Heckaman, and by an infant brother, Ralph L Sechrist Jr. She attended Nappanee High School and graduated with the class of 1940. After graduation she was employed with the Nappanee Telephone Company.

On May 29, 1941, she was married in Nappanee, Ind., to Walter L. Brown, who survives. She is also survived by two daughters, Mrs. Elmer D. (Vicki L.) Comstock of Bourbon, Ind., and Valerie L. Brown of Nashville, Tenn.; two grandchildren, R. Todd Scheets of Wakarusa, Ind., and Tracy L. Hieber of Elkhart, Ind.; three great-grandchildren; and by a sister, Norma J. Strange of Anderson, S.C.

Mrs. Brown retired in 1981 from Bendix in Mishawaka after 27 years of service. Prior to this she was employed by the South Bend Tribune. She was a member of East United Methodist Church in Mishawaka and was a 50-year member of the Eastern Star in Nappanee.

Funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 24, in the Hahn Funeral Home, 505 W. 8th Street, Mishawaka, with Rev. Sheldon Grame, pastor of the East United Methodist Church, officiating. Burial will follow at Olive Cemetery, Wakarusa. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, the Osteoporosis Foundation, to Hospice, or to the East United Methodist Church, Mishawaka.