Coleen Rae Brown

Coleen Rae Thomas Brown, daughter of Ned and Hazel Thomas of Mitchell Nebraska was born on March 17, 1937 and passed away on April 10, 2023. She was the granddaughter of Nebraska pioneers. She attended Mitchell High School, Nebraska State College and Colorado State University in Ft. Collins Colorado. She was a farm girl who dreamed of working in a big city and accomplished this in the last stage of her career in Cairo, Egypt and Amman, Jordan.

She received a BSc and MSc at Colorado State University. She started her career as an Extension Agent in Adams County Colorado specializing in working with young people and specialist in foods and nutrition. She later developed urban community programs for twelve years in Denver, Colorado establishing an urban center, Family Action Center for African American participants. This Center helped the development of young preschool members, teenagers and senior citizens. It also became a center for semi-professional dance and theater programs.

After developing proposals to work with women in international development she traveled to Lesotho, South Africa and Cairo Egypt to study international development programs that affected women. After that she still retained her position at Colorado State University and was loaned to the Consortium for International Development being managed by New Mexico State University. She was hired to work in Cairo Egypt. She worked for ten years as a training specialist and later became the Director of the National Agriculture Research Project. After she retired in 1991 she worked five years for the Development Alternatives International as an Assistant Director and Public Awareness Specialist for the Water Conservation International Project in Amman Jordan. In all of the international programs she travelled all over both countries and enjoyed travel for pleasure to Greece, Rome, Athens, Madrid, Paris and London. She thoroughly enjoyed working and traveling in the Middle East where she was received with care and love from the people she worked with.

In her work she developed many relationships with wellknown figures in Denver,

Cairo Egypt and Amman Jordan. She had the pleasure of working with Colorado Lieutenant Governor George Brown. She met and worked with the Egyptian Agricultural Minister Wally Youssef and in Amman she worked with retired Prime Minister Ahmed Obeidat. In her work she met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordian Queen Nour and Jordanian Princess Mona the mother of the present King Abdullah. These were memorable occasions.

In her Colorado career she was often the first woman to develop these new programs and work with the people in the area. The Denver programs were the first in this location from Colorado State University. She overcame the blocks that were placed in her way as she developed these programs. In Cairo she was the first American woman to head an agricultural project in a Muslim country. She loved her work and often commented that she had a good life.

She was preceded in death by her loving mother and father and her beautiful, intelligent grandson, Collin Brown.

She was loved and supported with care by her son Ronald Brown, Rick Brown, and granddaughter Elyse Brown and her family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, please offer donations to Father Joe's Villages. Coleen was a very passionate advocate for the work the organization continues to do to assist homeless persons.

https://my.neighbor.org/contact-us/

Cash Donations

Phone: 1 (619) 446-2101

Email: [email protected]

Mailing Donations

Father Joe’s Villages’ mailing address:

3350 E St.

San Diego, CA 92102