- Date Of Birth: November 24, 1961
- Date Of Death: November 10, 2016
- State: Texas
Many things in life are viewed as treasures. Maybe it is the time off to go get pampered and fall into relaxation. Perhaps it is the walk on the cool beach or finding that one special, beautiful sea shell amid foam and sea weed. Possibly it is scouting out garage sales on a cool summer morning to find the trinket that is a treasure. For Connie Kay Brown, her treasure was not only all of this, but also her beloved family and friends. The Lord blessed Connie with so many beautiful treasures.
The Friday after Thanksgiving in 1961, George and Lorene Brown found they had so much to be thankful for as they welcomed their new daughter into the world. Little Connie Brown was born on November 24, 1961 in Ashtabula, Ohio and became the fourth of six wonderful children. Connie and her siblings lived and played in Ashtabula until Connie was just about 2 years old. Little did Connie know that in twelve years, she would meet the love of her life, Jerry Callison, at the young age of fourteen. As their love continued to bloom and blossom, Jerry and Connie became husband and wife in 1978 on Connie’s 17th birthday. Together, Jerry and Connie Brown had two wonderful children: Christina and Jerry Jr. Family meant so much to Connie, and she was so excited to start a family of her own; she loved her family so fiercely and beautifully.
Connie displayed her love for her children in so many unique and special ways. Every now and then, Connie would take Christina for a “spa day” to get a manicure or a pedicure. “It can only be one or the other,” she would say, “not both. Don’t let me find your feet in the foot tub and pay for a manicure and a pedicure.” However, as they sat and rested within the comfortable spa chairs, Connie would find Christina’s feet slowly finding their way into the warm, soothing water of the foot tub. After Connie playfully chastised her daughter, Christina would claim, that her feet “just happened to slip into the tub.” This would be a little game they would play with each other well into Christina’s adulthood years when she would take her mother out and pay for her mother to get pampered. Christina would jokingly tell her mother that she would only pay for a manicure or a pedicure, but not both. They both laughed when Connie had her feet in the foot tub and claimed that her feet “just happened to slip in the tub.” When it came to her son, Connie went above and beyond, sometimes literally. Connie treated her son with trips to various amusement parks around the country. She would brave wild rides, wilder waiting lines, and expensive prices, just to see the smile across Jerry Jr.’s face and his excited laughter after a ride. Another one of Connie’s special treats for her children is when she would take them shopping.
When Connie wasn’t doing unique activities with her children, she would spend time with her sisters. Connie and all her siblings were very close. Several nights throughout the year, Connie and her sisters, Deborah, Peggy, and Susan, would have “Sister Nights” full of laughter, smiles, jokes, and stories. Typically after one of these entertaining nights, all of the girls would start to look for garage or yard sales, especially Connie. To Connie, looking at antiques and unique items was a hobby and a passion. She relished looking for garage sale signs and browsing around unwanted items that would become treasures to her. When Connie went to look at garage sales, it wasn’t in the late morning or early afternoon; it had to be bright and early in the morning. On one occasion, Connie even pulled her daughter to a garage sale while her sister was still in her pajamas, but it didn’t matter to Connie. She would always tell her family, “The early bird gets the worm.” Each one of her sisters claims that Connie was a great, wonderful sister to them all. She shared a special bond with each of them, like telling her youngest sister that they were the same age, if only for four days. Connie gave each of her siblings a special piece of her heart.
Connie’s family meant the world to her, especially her four grandchildren. To Davin, Kiera, Kaden, and Cavin, Connie was known as “Hammy.” She would spend as much time as she could with her grandchildren and would even spend the night with them from time to time. Kiera recalls always falling asleep next to her “Hammy” during these special sleepovers. Although they couldn’t share the same sleepovers when Connie went into the hospital, her grandchildren rallied alongside her naming her “Super Hammy.” Each one of her grandchildren fueled Connie’s desire to fight and beat leukemia; she wanted stay with them a little longer in this world along with all her beloved family members. Her life was full to the brim with joy, happiness, and passion.
Connie’s passion in life took many forms and took her many places. She greatly enjoyed beauty products and indulging in a few relaxing, cleansing treatments. “She was passionate about her grandchildren, her hair, her makeup, her skin, and her garage sales,” her daughter mentioned. Connie loved trying out different types of makeup and perfume. She did not need these products to be beautiful for Connie was truly beautiful from the inside out; she just liked being treated like a queen for a few hours out of the week. Along with surveying street blocks to find garage sales, Connie would walk down beach after beach to find and collect sea shells. After traveling to Padre Island, various beaches along the Pacific Ocean, and Surf Side, Connie had a beautiful array of shells to show family members and friends. Each shell was different and came with its own unique story, like the time Connie and her family went to Surf Side where Connie’s sister entrusted Connie to hold her camera. Connie decided to go wading through the shallows with the camera in hand, only to drop the camera when an unfriendly starfish bit her on the foot. The unfortunate event though did not stop Connie from having a good time and making memories with her family. Another passion of Connie’s was talking and chatting with family, friends, or strangers. She enjoyed getting to know people and making them feel comfortable; she was known for making friends so quickly. Despite all the interesting things that Connie could discuss from her family, to garage sales, to her job as a bookkeeper, to her vibrant, lovely life, Connie most enjoyed telling other people about her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Connie shared her love of Christ with her family and exposed her children to the Word of God. She wanted everyone to know the “Good News” for God had truly impacted and blessed her life. Connie’s sister recalls Greyhound bus trips all over West Virginia and Ohio to spread the Word of God to various towns and communities. Her faith in God never faltered throughout her life. Even when things looked bleak and impossible to her family, Connie always reminded them her favorite verse: “With God, all things are possible” -Matthew 19:26. God gave her strength to fight and to love, and that is just what Connie did for her family.
A few months ago, Connie Kay Brown became diagnosed with a very progressive form of leukemia. She entered the hospital and began a fight many of us would cower under. Christina and Jerry Jr. encouraged their mother when times got hard, and she in turn encouraged them when they became fatigued with worry and fear. Many times her family described Connie as a fighter, devoted and determined to beat the disease that held her back so she could be with her family. Her strength was inspiring and her loving spirit became contagious. So many people around the hospital came to love and adore Connie, claiming she was the “strongest woman” they had ever met. Many doctors and nurses from floors 8, 10, 12, and 14 came to comfort her family and pay their respects when the cancer took its final toll and quieted a fiery, passionate heart. Despite her struggle and her pain, Connie never once stopped thinking about her children, grandchildren, and family. Many times when her children would visit, Connie would ask them how they were doing and what was going on with their families. Christina and Jerry Jr. would tell her that she was the one who was sick, she didn’t need to worry or be concerned about them. However, she always told them that she didn’t care if she was sick; she wanted to know and care for her children still at that point. Connie’s family became her goal in fighting cancer. She was determined to stay with her family as long as she could manage. To give herself and others hope, she began to plan her 55th birthday party with her sister. Her birthday, which was only a few weeks away, was to be a big celebration full of lots of presents per Connie’s request. A special present to be presented to Connie was a necklace from Christina. This special necklace, composed of a heart with one larger side and one smaller side representing a mother embracing a daughter, was worn around Christina’s neck when she visited her mother in the hospital. Connie was waking up from some painkillers when she saw the necklace and groggily, yet forcefully said, “Oh, give me that necklace!” The incident gave the family a little light and laughter, and Christina knew she had to give the necklace to her mother for her birthday. Unfortunately to the sorrow and grief of her family, Connie Kay Brown passed away in the presence of her family on Thursday, November 10, 2016, just two weeks before her 55th birthday. Although her soul passed on to Heaven to be with her loving Lord, she gave each of her loved ones her fighting spirit and her fierce, unconditional love.
Connie Kay Brown is survived by in this life by her beloved children, Christina Brown and Jerry Callison Jr.; her mother, Lorene Brown; her father, George Brown Sr.; her sisters, Deborah Snapp, Susan Mitchell, and Peggy Cortez; her brother, David Brown; her grandchildren, Davin, Keira, Kaden, and Cavin; and many nieces and nephews. Connie Brown in preceded in death by her husband, Jerry Callison Sr.; her brother, George Brown Jr.; and her niece, Rosa Garcia.
Monday, November 14th, 2016, 5:00pm – 8:00pm, Hughes Family Tribute Center
Tuesday, November 15th, 2016, 1:00pm, Hughes Family Tribute Center
Crown Hill Memorial Park
