Our beloved Justena Brown departed this life Saturday, February 2, 2013 at a local care center. She was 91 years old. A Family Visitation will be held Tuesday evening from 6 pm to 9 pm February 5th at Johnson’s Funeral Home. Services will be at 2pm February 6th at Johnson’s Funeral Home Chapel. James Mitchell will officiate. Burial will be at 11am February 8th at Fairlawn Cemetery in Chickasha, Oklahoma.
Justena was born July 7, 1921 in Alex, OK to Perry Bassett and Hazel Burrows Bassett. She was the second of seven children. She grew up on a farm near Tuttle, OK. She attended Tuttle schools and graduated from Tuttle High School. She briefly attended Oklahoma College for Women in Chickasha, OK. Justena married George Elwood Brown on August 5, 1939 in Chickasha. George and Justena lived in several places during the early years of their marriage including Chickasha, Fort Sumner, New Mexico, Coolidge, Arizona, near Cora, Wyoming (where Justena was cook at a ranch owned by Wyoming State Senator Norman Barlow), and Calero, California. In the early 1950s, George and Justena settled in Chino, CA. Justena lived almost 50 years in Chino. George and Justena had three children, Eddie Elwood Brown (1939), who died in infancy, Doris Jean Brown (1942), and Betty Sue Brown Whizin (1946).
Justena was a homemaker who took great pride in her family. In her spare time she enjoyed bowling, travelling (she visited almost every US state), and playing Scrabble and dominoes with her family. Justena was a longtime member of White Avenue Baptist Church in Pomona, CA. She was church treasurer for over 30 years, participated in WMU for a number of years, and helped prepare Wednesday night meals for the church for over ten years. Justena and her daughter, Doris, moved to San Angelo in 2001 to be near her daughter Betty and Betty’s family. In San Angelo, Justena was a faithful member of Immanuel Baptist Church.
Justena was preceded in death by her husband, George Brown, in 1989. Also preceding her in death are son Eddie, in 1939, and daughter Betty, in 2010. A brother, Earl Bassett, preceded her in death in 1992. An infant brother, Larry Bassett, also preceded her in death in 1943. Justena is survived by her daughter, Doris Brown of San Angelo, a brother, Carl Bassett of Wichita Falls, and three sisters, Doris Wilson of Duncan, OK, Jean Gibbs of Lindsey, OK, and Ina Hurd of Yuma, AZ. Additional survivors are three grandchildren, Kevin Whizin of Amarillo, Suzanne St. Clair and husband of Fort Worth, and Andrea Thornton and fiancé Joe Sanders of Hutto. There are also three great grandchildren, Sabrina Thornton, Taylor Thornton, and Elizabeth St. Clair.
The family wishes to thank Angels Care Home Health, Comfort Keepers, Hospice of San Angelo, and the staff of Park Plaza Nursing Center. A very special thank you also goes out to Wanda Hudson, June La Foy, Sammie Caldwell, Jo Hoover, and Bobbie Economidis. Memorials may be made to the Immanuel Baptist Church building fund.
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