Myrtle Brown Rake

Myrtle Brown was born November 5, 1924, in Lebanon, Tennessee, the second-born child of Will B. and Mary Brown. One of six children born during the Great Depression, Myrt left home on the farm at sixteen years of age with her cousin Gladys, sharing a room to rent in the big city of Nashville, securing her first job at Werthan Mills. Determined as always, she simultaneously completed her high school education in May 1944 by attending night school at the Watkins Institute even as she worked a full 40-hour work week in the secretarial pool. Headstrong, feisty and fiercely independent, Myrt was living with three other roommates when she met the man who would finally steal her heart and devotion. Stationed with the Army Air Corps at Smyrna Field, Lee Rake was a Yankee from Michigan and a few years younger, but oh! did he match her in sass! After serving in the USAF during the Korean War, he returned to put a ring on Myrt’s finger. They married November 19, 1951 in Pontiac, Michigan where they made their first home. After relocating to Muskegon, Michigan the following year, they welcomed their only child, Janis Lee, on May 18, 1953. It was in Muskegon when Myrt began working for Associates Finance, the loan company from which she would ultimately retire, many years and two states later. Hobbies included flower arranging, garden club, and Assistant Girl Scout Leader through the years, but they were all eclipsed by her love for her granddaughters once they arrived. While Myrt was not one to display her affections dramatically, certain loved ones had her unswerving devotion, and they always knew who they were. Some she is now reunited with in Glory. Those of us who remain have been forever changed by the depth of her devotion, the clarity of her character, and the integrity of her life among us. Myrt was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, E. L. “Lee” Rake, her parents W. B. and Mary Brown, her granddaughter Lora Beth Hernandez, sister Ruth, and brothers John and James Brown, as well as beloved grandmother Lovie Tipton Brown, aunt Laura Lou Lannom, cousin Gladys Foutch, and lifetime friend Grace Edwards. She is survived by her daughter Janis Lee (Tony) Hernandez of Helena, Montana, granddaughter Crystal Lee (James) Butler, great-grandchildren, Lora Evyn, Ashlyn Beth, and James Camden Butler, all of Leander, Texas, and brothers Will Dee (Eleanor) Brown of Franklin, Kentucky, Jerry (Yvonne) Brown, sister in law Catherine Brown, all of Lebanon, Tennessee, sister in laws Sandra Rake and Ruth Eek of Muskegon, Michigan, and other relatives, friends, former neighbors and co-workers from Brentwood and Franklin, TN, Amherst, NY, and Muskegon-Grand Rapids, Michigan areas. We extend heartfelt thanks to the staff, especially the nurses and technicians, at NHC Cool Springs, for their tender loving care for our already-missed Myrt throughout her six year stay. A special word of thanks to staff in Long-Term Care during her most difficult final days among us here. We realize you are not always treated graciously as you strive to provide daily, consistent attention and care to residents and their families, and we admire your ability to nevertheless extend grace where none has been given and rise above such poverty of spirit. You are now nothing less than part of the Rake & Brown extended family. Thanks also to Caris Hospice for keeping the family out of state informed throughout this time, and providing immediate response as needed. Services will be conducted Monday, August 31, by Rev. Daly Thompson of Johnson’s Chapel at Mount Olivet Funeral Home, 1101 Lebanon Road, Nashville, TN, at 1 pm. Viewing will be the same day from 10:30 am until services begin. Interment will be at LaGuardo Cemetery, LaGuardo, Tennessee. In the spirit of her charitable yet independent heart, donations may be made in Myrt’s name to the charity of your choosing. We are comforted to know the reunion party in Heaven is joyful, loud, and pealing with stories, chatter and laughter with Myrt’s arrival