The Reverend Virginia Page Dabney Brown, a resident of Houston since 2013, died on August 12, 2020. She was born on February 27, 1948 to Jeanne Patterson Dabney and William Minor Dabney in Savannah, Georgia.
She was preceded in death by her parents. She was also preceded in death by the Reverend Bruce Todd Brown of Memphis, to whom she was married for 20 years. She is survived by her children and their spouses: Benjamin Thomas Brown of Lawrenceville, GA, the Reverend Elizabeth Ruth Dabney of Houston, and Rebecca Mary Magdalene Brown and Everett Charles Boyer of Laurel, MD; her grandchildren: Veronica Sophia Dowell, David William Dowell, and Matthew Rory Dowell, of Houston, and William Dale Brown, of Lawrenceville; and her siblings and their spouses, Mary Beverley Dabney of Chattanooga, TN, Daniel Patterson Dabney of Bloomington, IN, and Elizabeth Sinclair Dabney Puckett and the Very Reverend David F.K. Puckett of Houston.
Virginia received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Michigan State University in 1968 at the age of 20, where she was known for taking class notes in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional language, Elvish. In 1969, she joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Uganda, teaching math and science in a girls’ school, praying with her students and even protecting them from deadly green mambas. She was in Uganda when the dictator Idi Amin took power.
When she returned from Uganda, Virginia attended Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and received a Master of Divinity degree in1974. Afterwards, she returned to her childhood home of Albuquerque and founded St Chad's Episcopal Church as a deacon.
Virginia was the first woman ordained as priest in the Diocese of the Rio Grande in January 1977. This was reportedly the first ordination of a woman to the priesthood where no objection was raised.
She continued at St Chad's as priest, and then she and Bruce created the Preacher Lewis School for Ministry, through which both lay education and preparation for ordained ministry was offered across the Diocese.
She also served at St. Mark’s on the Mesa in Albuquerque.
Virginia later served as Rector at Thomas a Becket in Roswell, and in 1992 accepted a call to become the Associate Rector at Grace-St Luke's in Memphis. She served there until 2000 when she began work as Associate at Christ Church, Springfield, Missouri.
While in Memphis she founded the Rivendell Community, a recognized Christian Community in the Episcopal Church. When she moved to Springfield, the community expanded to include members from the Diocese of West Missouri. There are now members in several other dioceses.
She served as Vicar at St Mark's, Kimberling City, MO, and then at Shepherd of the Hills in Branson, MO for several years, and then retired to Houston, Texas where she continued to serve congregations who needed her ministry.
Cremation has taken place. A private memorial service will be held at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, 13131 Fry Rd, Cypress TX 77433, Saturday, August 22 at 2pm with the Reverend Cathy Cox officiating. The service will be streamed on St. Aidan’s Facebook page and on its YouTube channel.
In lieu of flowers, the family would be grateful for memorials to Episcopal Relief and Development, www.episcopalrelief.org, or The Rivendell Community, rivendellcommunity.wordpress.com.
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