Mary Ellen Brown

Mary Ellen Carroll Brown, 83 of Springhouse Estates, Lower Gwynedd, Pa died Friday March 7, 2014 in Abington Hospice At Warminster after a brief stay. Born in Philadelphia, PA, she was the daughter of the late Benjamin Coleman and Loretta (nee Wagner) Carroll. Mrs. Brown was preceded in death by her husband James Francis Brown in 1999. Mrs. Brown was a graduate of Mt. St. Joseph Academy Class of 1948 and was a member of their Hall of Fame and Chestnut Hill College class of 1952. Mary Ellen was a member of Mary, mother of the Redeemer Church and former member of St. Alphonsus Church in Maple Glen. Mrs. Brown is the devoted mother of Michael Joseph Brown of Springhouse, PA, James Francis Brown and his wife Christine of Chester Springs, PA, Mark Carroll Brown and his wife Mary Ann of Laguna Niguel, CA, Carolyn Brown Sievert and her husband Bruce of Thousand Oaks, CA, Patricia Brown Lutter and her husband Frank of Lower Gwynedd, PA and Stephen Thomas Brown and his wife Thai of Dana Point, CA. She was the loving Mom-Mom and Mimsy to 26 Grandchildren, 6 Great Grandchildren and sister of Charles Coleman Carroll and his wife Anne of Cincinatti, OH and Boca Ratan, FL and James Eug...[more]

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Carroll and his wife Janis of Dubuque, IA. Relatives and friends are invited to call after 10:00 AM Friday March 14, 2014 at Mary, Mother Of The Redeemer Church 1325 Upper State Rd, North Wales (Montgomeryville) with a Funeral Mass at 11:30 AM. Interment will be in St. John Neumann Cemetery, Chalfont. Remembrances in her name to Pennsylvanians for Human Life 590 Snyder Avenue, Suite 201 West Chester, Pa 19382 www.pennlife.org would be appreciated by the family. Photos and Tributes may be shared at www.UrbanFuneralHome.com Some thoughts from her children. The Teacher: Mom always said to us that she genuinely enjoyed helping people learn. She was intrigued by the challenges of teaching, i.e., how to motivate a student to want to learn and how to present a subject in ways that the student could truly understand. Mom enjoyed learning and applied that to her teaching. She had developed the remarkable skills of taking a subject, analyzing it, organizing the subject into meaningful steps and motivating her students to learn those steps as she taught. Many of them can still recall the fun that they had learning in her classes. Mom taught History, English and Religion. In applying her skills as an educator, she helped develop the core syllabus for the Philadelphia Junior High Social Studies curriculum and create the CCD Program for the Archdioceses of Philadelphia. If there is a will, there is a way: Mom strongly believed that and always said, "If you put your mind to it, you can do anything." Even as she grew older, Mom lived that motto fully. For example at 71, Mom put her mind to jet skiing, so she did it. And by the looks of that photo showing the finish of her "cruise" back to shore and her big, beaming smile, she enjoyed every minute of it. Mom loved the idea of traveling and so she visited cities and churches in Italy, pubs and castles in Ireland, inactive volcanoes in Maui, Southern hospitality in the Carolinas and more sites than we can remember. Leading by example was another important principle of Mom's. For example, she played basketball at the Mount High School and accepted an athletic scholarship at Chestnut Hill College. In her senior year at both schools, she captained her teams. Later as a coach, she could not only explain the game but also demonstrate the skills that she wanted instilled in her players. In 1953, she led Little Flower to the League Championship title. In 1976, she was head coach of the Mount's Basketball Team. Correct drill and practice were basic to her coaching; even more fundamental was explaining how this move, this shot, this set worked. Her players responded very well to her lead. In 1978, they won the League Championship Title.