Eileen C. Brown (Callahan), 92, died on April 12, 2019 at her home in Bethel, Connecticut. She was born April 16, 1926 in Northampton, Massachusetts to Irene (Devine) and William H. Callahan and lived in South Deerfield, Massachusetts for the majority of her youth. She graduated from South Deerfield High School in 1944 and obtained an Elementary Teachers Degree in 1948 from Bridgewater State Teacher’s College.
Eileen began teaching fourth grade in East Hartford, Connecticut at the Joseph Goodwin Elementary School, which was close to Pratt & Whitney’s airport runway. She loved teaching but recalled the challenges of teaching with constant aircraft noise, never dreaming she would soon meet and marry one of the pilots.
In 1952, she married Warren C. Brown, an Aeronautical Flight Test Engineer with Pratt & Whitney Aircraft. They started their family in Glastonbury, CT. Together they lovingly raised eight children. In 1955, the growing family moved to their home of over 60 years on Sunset Hill Road in Bethel, CT. Eileen put her love of gardening and architecture to good use, designing and drawing the blueprints that would eventually transform the small cottage and acreage into a larger colonial home surrounded by organic gardens. Eileen’s home was her haven and provided a welcoming gathering place for family, friends and neighborhood children. She gave to all her children a lifelong love of reading and exploring the world. Her large vegetable garden and love of cooking were lifelong hobbies that she maintained into her 80’s. She enjoyed perusing cookbooks and garden magazines while watching the colorful New England songbirds from her large kitchen window.
All who knew Eileen were impressed with her quiet intelligence and positive gentle manner. Eileen’s deep faith guided her daily and was an inspiration to her family and friends. She was a devoted parishioner for more than 60 years of St. Mary Roman Catholic Church in Bethel until her passing. Eileen was devoted to Our Blessed Mother and the Rosary.
She was predeceased by her husband, Warren Curtis Brown (died April 27, 2017), parents William and Irene Callahan, and her two brothers Laurence and Gerald Callahan. She is survived by her eight children and their spouses: David and Ulrike Brown, Debbie and Bill Chalmers, Kathie Brown, Sharon and Frank Bergren, Diane Brown, Maureen Brown, Christopher and Tammy Brown, and Susan Brown; eleven grandchildren and their spouses: Devin, Erin, Will, Mircea and Molly Brown, Hans and Jaclyn Bergren, Erika, Lora, Brady, Meghan, Curtis, Katarina and two great-grandchildren: Eisa, and Saoirse.
