Gloria Marcella Brown

Sister Gloria Marcella Brown, known to most as Marcella, was born May 17, 1938 to James and Lucy Wynn in Casscoe (Arkansas County) Arkansas. She was the couple’s second child. The family later relocated to North Little Rock, where Marcella attended George Washington Carver Elementary School and graduated from Scipio A. Jones High School in 1957. During high school, she was chosen a Yearbook Favorite and was active in the campus Red Cross Chapter, Mentor Club, and New Homemakers of America (N.H.A).
 

Marcella married Robert L. (Bobby) Brown, a North Little Rock native, and the love of her life. They enjoyed many years of wedded bliss. To their union, four children were born. Cedric, Subrena, Robert Jr., and Mark. Bobby and Marcella built their forever home in the Sherman Park Community, formerly referred to as the “Nou-Vean” area. There, they quickly became pillars of the community, enjoying friends, and family activities. Her lovely home spoke to the investment she made in her family, but never more than Christmas seasons, when everything was decorated. There was very little that her husband, children and grandchildren desired that she did not strive to provide, especially love and a positive atmosphere.

At an early age, Marcella accepted Christ as her Savior and united with King Solomon Baptist Church. There, she received Christian teaching and moral guidance from Pastors C.L. Criner and Leo J. Thomas. She loved the Lord and remained faithful unto Him and her church, even to her last days. A strong, quiet fashionista, Marcella was always “dressed to a tee” with every part of her attire matching – from hat to dress, to shoes and purse, to jewelry- all accented by a beautiful corsage. King Solomon members noticed her constant presence, but it was not her glamour that held their attention, it was the Christian attitude, smile, and humility she exhibited.

Marcella was an enthusiastic employee from her earliest job as a nanny, to being an industrial worker at Franklin Electric Company in Jacksonville, to helping process mailings for Monsanto Production Company at International Graphics, where she took early retirement and created an ideal situation: being home daily to stay involved in her grandchildren’s development from elementary school through high school. When they went to college, she was also there, supporting them all the way through. Why, some would have thought she was a Delta Sigma Theta member  too. She was so proud of her grand’s numerous accomplishments and often told them and everyone else so. They knew they were the center of her life, but “Don was favored.”

Shopping was one of Marcella’s favorite past-times, and with a keen eye for bargains, many people benefitted from her trips to the mall. For her boys, including Don and Lil Don, she kept a large supply of undergarments, socks, and caps. For Subrena, Shalanda, and Kassidy, her best friends, there were always special surprises. For those in need, there was plenty bought for them, too. Marcella was truly a blessing. Whenever she heard of or sensed a need, she went out-of-her way to help people. She also enjoyed cooking, especially chicken and dumplings and cornbread dressing, which were Cedric and Robert’s favorites. Frequent trips to Golden Corral’s weekend breakfast buffet were her special times with Mark, and she always has time for her brother, George, best known as “Buck”. She really enjoyed “her” daily soap operas: “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful”, which she and sister Verline discussed in detail, by telephone, after every episode. They were quite a pair!

She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert L. Brown, Sr. parents; James and Lucy Wynn, and her brothers; George and Hal Wynn

On Wednesday, June 28, 2023 at 10:15 a.m. Marcella departed thus earthly life, from her home, headed for a beautifully heavenly home. She will be greatly missed, but never forgotten, by three sons; Cedric L. Brown (Renee), Robert L. Brown Jr. (Erica), and Mark Brown, a daughter; Subrena Howard (Donald Sr.), sister; Barbara Verline Graggs (Fletcher), an aunt; Ora Wynn, grandchildren; Donald II, Shalanda, and Kassidy Howard. Several nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives, neighbors, and friends.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Gloria Marcella Brown, please visit our floral store.