Lorraine Brown

Obituary For Lorraine Brown

Lorraine J. Brown, 101, of Mechanicsburg, beat cancer at seventy- eight, beat COVID at one hundred and one, but like her parents before her and all of us, she could not beat time. She died on February 14, 2022, Valentine’s Day, at 6:50 p.m. She will be forever remembered and missed by those who had the privilege to know her. She was born a preemie in Pittsburgh, PA, daughter of the late Elizabeth (Grove) Robinson and James Samuel Robinson, Sr. She was so small that her mother, Elizabeth Robinson, whom we all affectionately called “Big Mama,” said that when held in her hand, the baby’s arms and legs barely hung over her fingertips. The doctor told Big Mama not to get attached, not to even name the baby because the baby would not survive. Upon hearing that the doctors had no hope of saving her, Big Mama took her out of the hospital and took her home to care for her herself. She created a homemade bed by lining a shoebox with cotton and topping it with heavy flannel. She kept it in warm places and carried her around with her as she did her housework so she could see to her at all times. The tiny girl beat the odds and was named Lorraine Jacquelette Robinson. As she grew, a huge personality emerged from her small body. She became strong and did well in school. She was well-behaved and easy to get along with. Lorraine, while working at the Pittsburgh Courier newspaper, met a man named Clifton Brown, Jr. For him it was love at first sight. He proposed to her on their second date, which she found to be outrageous, but she soon fell in love with the brilliant, funny, romantic and sentimental dark handsome man. They eventually married and began their family. Together they had four babies, three boys and a girl, all two years apart. Later she would say many times that having and raising their children was the happiest time of her life. She was a loving, attentive and very demonstrative mother and having had the discernment to have picked a loving father who was a good provider, made a happy home for their family. She was the love of our father’s life. He would say, “I love my children, but I married your mother.” She always supported our father in his endeavors. He worked seven days a week and she never once complained, but praised him for it and was grateful for his determination to support his family well in all ways. Each child was her favorite. They made home a place where everyone in the family wanted to be. They filled the house with humor and love. It was a place where friends and family loved to be and many of them loved her and some viewed her as a surrogate mother. Serendipitously, she took a job as a secretary just several months before Daddy died. She was heartsick but not broken when she lost him. She displayed her strength of will, brains and character by working her way up from secretary to executive administrator. Lorraine was a very pretty, intensely loving, faithful, strong, determined, consistent and generous person. The hallmark of her character was that she always did her best and truly lived a life of doing the next right thing. She was understanding and very empathetic. She also was a Christian who rarely attended church and talked very little about her beliefs, but actually lived them to the fullest. She is survived by her daughter, Lorraine Brown; her three sons, Clifton L. Brown III, Raymond R. Brown and Sherman James Brown. Lorraine‘s life will be celebrated on Tuesday, February 22 in the Chapel of the Major H.Winfield Funeral Home, Steelton with viewing and visitation at 11:00 a.m. until 12 Noon and Services at 12 Noon. Followed by burial in William Howard Day Cemetery Live Streaming of the service will be available on the Major H. Winfield Funeral Home’s YouTube page. COVID-19 Guidelines will be observed with face masks for all attendees. www.majorhwinfieldfuneralhome.com