Anita “Judy” Edwards Brown
Anita Edwards (Judy) Brown, a woman who touched the lives of many residents of Santa Barbara and elsewhere, passed away on July 13, 2012 at the Valle Verde retirement community in Santa Barbara, at the age of 91, from natural causes. Her mobility in recent years had been curtailed by a stroke, but her mind remained remarkably sharp.
She was born at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital on November 30, 1920, the daughter of Martha Wagner Edwards and Archibald Monroe Edwards of Santa Barbara. She attended the Santa Barbara Girls School, where she gained a life-long appreciation of proper grammar, and Wellesley College, from which she graduated in 1941 with a major in Italian literature. During WW II, she lived in New York City, working for the Rockefeller Brothers foundation. On July 12, 1947 she married Arthur Lewis Brown at Trinity Church, Santa Barbara, where a memorial service is planned for 2 pm Friday, September 21, 2012.
After her marriage, she worked in the administrative office of the Thacher School in Ojai in 1947-48, until the birth of the first of her three children. Arthur’s career with Shell Oil Company took the family to many places. She became adept at moving, and created a total of 12 homes – including in Ojai, Pasadena, Holland, Ventura, Salt Lake City, Trinidad (in the West Indies), New York and Denver. In 1973 she and Arthur retired to Santa Barbara where they lived in Hope Ranch. Arthur died in 1983, and Judy continued to live in Hope Ranch until 2003, when she moved to Valle Verde.
Mrs. Brown served on the boards of numerous local associations – including the Visiting Nurses Association, Museum of Natural History, St Cecilia Society, and the Little Town Club. She also served on the vestry of Trinity Church. As an alumna of Wellesley College she stayed active with the college and kept up with her fellow classmates.
She was an avid bridge player, a talented writer, a voracious reader, an enthusiastic solver of crossword puzzles, a graceful entertainer, and a successful investor. She passed along a love of travel to her children and grandchildren. She stayed in close touch with family members and friends all over the world, but was also a very private person.
They will miss her quick wit, sage advice, quiet support, and genuine interest in every person she met. She inspired those who knew her to be kind, to keep learning, to maintain integrity, and to continue to challenge themselves.
She is survived by her children, Chad, Nan and Sally Brown, her 8 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren, her niece, 3 nephews, and their families.