A long-time resident of Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Brown was born on June 21, 1923 and died this past June, just a few days short of her 90th birthday. She was predeceased by her parents Robie Spurgeon Brown and Mabel (Swartz) Brown, her sister Mildred Brown Early, and two nephews Robie and John Early.
After graduating from Lynn Classical High School in 1941, Virginia joined the United States Coast Guard and, later, the United States Navy Nurse Corps with which she served as a reserve officer until 1981, rising to the rank of Captain. She graduated from Boston University in 1947 and in 1950 received her Master's degree in nursing from the Yale School of Nursing, of which she remained a hard-working and devoted alumna until her death. Earning her M.S. in Public Health from Columbia University, and Ph.D. in Public Health Administration from New York University, Dr. Brown pursued a rich and varied career in university teaching, hospital administration, and in the private sector in health insurance management. When she retired from her public health work, Dr. Brown pursued her interest in historic textile conservation at the Fashion Institute of Technology, from which she received a Master of Arts degree in 2001.
Virginia was a trusted confidant, a caring, cheerful, and generous companion to her many friends, and a dedicated worker for those organizations close to her heart, including the Alumnae/i Association of the Yale School of Nursing, the Women’s City Club of New York, and the Lynn Museum and Historical Society.
Virginia Brown is survived by her lifelong friend Jean (Jacobs) Conant of Marblehead, and “honorary” niece and nephew, Dr. Susan J. White of Norwich, Vermont and Todd A.H. Waller of Salem. She will be sorely missed by a host of friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and co-workers, as well as by the institutions to which she gave liberally of her time, energy, and good judgment.
A Service of the Interment of Ashes and Memorial will be held on Saturday, August 17, 2013 at 2:00 PM at the Swampscott Cemetery, Swampscott. Arrangements are being handled by the Cuffe-McGinn Funeral Home, 157 Maple Street, Lynn, from whom further information can be obtained.
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