Helga graduated summa cum laude at the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree in 1983. She was inducted into the National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and was a card-carrying member. While attending the university, she enjoyed working in the foreign language lab helping students with German.
She was a beloved member of the Germania Club of Memphis for many years.
She enjoyed traveling, drawing, needle work, bowling, and was an avid reader. She particularly enjoyed reading detective novels with her favorite author being Henning Mankell (Swedish). She loved her cats and all other animals as well.
She was a substitute teacher at Harding Academy where she taught French as well as many other subjects. Teaching was a passion of hers and she was knowledgeable on a variety of topics.
She loved the arts, particularly operas, ballet, and symphonies, Mozart being her favorite composer. She particularly loved "The Magic Flute" and The Vienna Boys' Choir.
She also loved a variety of music ranging from Amadeus to ZZ Top, including The Rolling Stones, Queen, Mozart, Beethoven, and everything in between. She was a loyal listener of Rock 103 and WKNO-FM.
She was multi-lingual, having taken Latin and Spanish and being fluent in German, French, and English.
She was a baptized and confirmed believer in Jesus Christ and had faith that God was in control of her life. She was a long-time member of Christ the King Lutheran Church and particularly loved the German Choir Concerts around Christmas-time. She also loved baking German cakes and cookies during the holiday season, starting at her husband’s birthday at the end of November and baking her way into the New Year.
She was a loving mother and caregiver and a wonderful Oma (Grandma) to many. She was kind-hearted, loving, and giving to so many. She enjoyed long talks with those she cared about and valued the little things in life, like sending a card, making a phone call to someone who she thought might need one, or collecting postcards her friends and family would send her from all around the world.
She was preceded in death by her son Dwayne Brown, and she leaves behind her devoted husband Wilber Brown, her loving son Michael Brown, her daughter-in-law Vickie Brown, and her grandchild Hollie Brown who is the apple of her eye. She also leaves behind her brother Otto Guenewaelder and his wife Baerbel Guenewaelder, her nephew Steffen Guenewaelder, her niece Andrea Guenewaelder, along with Andrea's daughter Mila. Additionally, she leaves behind her extended family who she loved as grandchildren: Katherine Skiles (Phillips), Christopher Kalan Phillips, and Sarah Phillips.
A visitation for Helga will be held Saturday, October 15, 2022, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 5296 Park Avenue, Memphis, TN 38119. A funeral service will occur Saturday, October 15, 2022, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM, 5296 Park Avenue, Memphis, TN 38119. A committal service will occur Saturday, October 15, 2022, from 1:30 PM to 2:00 PM at Memphis Memory Gardens, 6444 Raleigh Lagrange Road, Memphis, TN 38134.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at MemphisFuneralPoplar.com for the Brown family.
