Martha Keith Brown, 55

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Martha Keith Brown, age 55,
Lafayette, September 28, 2011 at home. She is survived by, husband,
Russell Brown, daughter, Mary Brown (Matthew) Cregger of Columbia, SC,
daughter, Nora Rachel Brown of Memphis, TN, grandchild, Luke Jackson Cregger,
sister, Jeanette Keith & Tony Allen of Bloomsburg, PA, brother, Gary
(Jenna) Keith, Chattanooga, TN, father & mother-in-law, Jack Betty Brown of
Granville, TN. Her life was far too short, but she lived it intensely and with
faith.

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A 1980 graduate of the
University of Tennessee-Memphis School of Pharmacy, she spent most of her
career serving the public behind the counter of The Prescription Shop in Red
Boiling Springs. Before cancer took away her memory, she knew the names, faces
and prescriptions of all her patients. Once interested in research, she came to
believe that God had placed her where she was in order that she could help
people. And “Miss Martha”, as her friends and customers called her, did exactly
that. A member of the Church of Christ, Martha combined a child’s trust in
God with an analytical mind. Her reading and study made her a popular,
influential teacher. For her entire adult life she taught Sunday school
classes, led women’s retreats, and for many years wrote, edited and published a
series of monthly essays known as Sister to Sister. Characteristically, she used her cancer as a teaching
moment, posting about her treatment and her faith in a widely-read
blog. She loved her family deeply, and devoted much of her time to their
care. She was the primary caregiver for her parents, the late Robert and Melba
Keith, and her late aunt, Mildred Dycus. She married her high school sweetheart
Russell Brown in 1977 and they raised two daughters. She danced at her daughter
Mary’s wedding to Matt Cregger of Columbia, SC. in 2007, and rejoiced in the
birth of their son Luke, whose presence gladdened the last year of her life.
She was proud of her daughter Nora’s admission to the University Of Memphis
School Of Law, and kept family members posted on Nora’s developing career. Her
brother Gary Keith and Sister Jeanette Keith, their spouses and their children
knew her as a wonderful companion in good times and a source of strength in
time of trouble.  Martha and Russell enjoyed life, from UT football to
snow skiing most of the major mountain resorts of the west. Martha loved the
high mountains. The family traveled throughout Europe following the Tour de
France where she climbed and biked in both the Pyrenees and the Alps. In the
Alps she hiked to the base of the Eiger and to the famous (at least to mountain
climbers) Hornli Hut on the northeast ridge of the Matterhorn. Although small
and seemingly delicate, Martha was a talented athlete and loved to run and race
5-Ks. She ran every day, continuing even for a time after her diagnosis. Martha
was never cancer-free after her first diagnosis, but she lived her life free of
cancer. She confronted her illness with courage and grace, never complaining
but always concerned with the wellbeing of others, and died as she had lived, a
woman of valour. Funeral Service, Lafayette Church of Christ, Saturday, 11 a.m.
with Jerry Mercer officiating.  Burial will be on the family farm with
only immediate family in attendance. Visitation: Thursday, 4-8 pm., Friday, 11
a.m.-8 p.m. at the Anderson and Son Funeral Home in Lafayette. Her body will
lie in state at the church on Saturday from 9 a.m. until service at 11 a.m.
Family requests in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hagan Hix Memorial
Scholarship Fund or Macon Helps Terminal Illness Fund through the Funeral Home.
ANDERSON & SON FUNERAL HOME, Directors, 615-666-4011.