Dates
Ellen Brown, who for almost five decades in San Angelo, used her word, writing and personal skills to enhance various community programs and projects, died Sunday night.
An open viewing will be held all day Tuesday and Wednesday at Harper Funeral Home. The Memorial service, following a private family burial, will be held 2:00 PM, Thursday, March 1, 2018 at First Presbyterian Church.
Ellen, 76, was born November 29, 1941 to Loyd and Sue Herring. Herring was a rancher and prominent Ballinger wool warehouseman and community leader.
After graduating from Ballinger High School in 1960, she furthered her education at Texas Christian University, then transferred to the University of North Texas where she earned a B.A. degree in journalism in 1964.
Ellen married her high school sweetheart Stephen Brown in 1962 in Fort Worth, and the couple worked for the Fort Worth Press newspaper. They marked their 55th wedding anniversary this past year.
In 1966 they moved to San Angelo where they would become fully engaged in the growing city. She worked as the San Angelo Standard Times women’s news editor and school reporter while Stephen covered City Hall for the newspaper before becoming City Manager.
Their son Charles “Chuck” Brown was born in 1967.
The Concho Valley Council of Government hired Ellen in 1972 to be their regional planning director and she secured and implemented grants in their 13-county area.
The 1980’s ushered in a new chapter when she was tapped by West Texas Rehabilitation Center President/Founder Shelley Smith to assist with the Center’s San Angelo building campaign which resulted in the $2.5 million facility at Jackson and University Streets.
Working alongside WTRC Board/Building Chairman Lee Pfluger, Ellen put her fund-raising skill set in full gear and it would eventually serve the growing non-profit organization for three decades.
In addition, as donor relations director, she was responsible for building relationships throughout the Concho Valley and initiating fundraising events which continue to this very day, thanks to her attention to detail and organizational abilities. Her personality allowed her equally at ease in a bank president’s office or an area rancher’s kitchen table.
Meanwhile, the couple supported Chuck’s school and sporting activities, especially Little League baseball, and enjoyed times together in their RV traveling or parked at a deer lease or a fishing spot.
Ellen selflessly served her community: United Way allocations committee, Better Business Bureau board member, Girl Scout Council, Hope for Holidays, and United Blood Services board and donor.
As an elder of First Presbyterian Church, she assisted in various leadership positions including stewardship and pastoral relations.
The San Angelo Chamber of Commerce honored both Ellen and Stephen with its highest honor, “Citizen of the Year” in 1997. She also was among the first to be feted by the El Camino Girl Scout Council as a “Woman of Distinction.”
Besides her husband and family, which grew to include daughter-in-law Jenni and granddaughters Megan and Hannah and great granddaughter Elena, Ellen’s passion was West Texas Rehab Center.
After being named WTRC Vice President of resource development, she continued to develop funding sources to meet expanding treatment program and equipment needs.
Even in her semi-retirement years, she raised $1.7 million for the Center’s new adjacent administrative building which freed up space in the bustling main building to meet an ever-growing patient population. That also included funding for renovations and upgrades to the 30 plus-year-old facility on Jackson Street.
Every expansion in San Angelo since 1982 and several in Abilene at the flagship campus have her diligent imprints on them. Her legacy is to the hundreds of patients—young and old –receiving care, dignity and independence. Many of them she knew on a first-name basis, others she will never know, but they will be served for years to come.
Ellen was preceded in death by her parents; her husband’s parents and sisters Susan Stahl and Lynn Crawford.
Survivors include her husband, Stephen; son Chuck and Jenni Brown; granddaughter Megan and Jesse Mann; granddaughter Hannah; great-granddaughter Elena; sister-in-law Beverly Brown of North Carolina; niece Laura Alexander and nephew Charles Switzer, and God child Jessica Vance.
The family requests in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to West Texas Rehab Center, First Presbyterian Church or the Angelo State University Choir Scholarship Program.