FRANKLIN—Mary Ross Beale Brown, 73, widow of Chester Holland Brown Sr., passed away Wednesday, February 13, 2013, at Heritage Hall in Virginia Beach.

She was born in Potecasi, N.C., a daughter of the late Garland and Mary Hodge Beale.

After high school, she went to Chowan College and in later years continued her education at Paul D. Camp where she graduated with honors.

During her lifetime she worked in banking for 19 years and then went on to work in the Franklin City School System where her love of children grew as she served as a teacher’s assistant.

Volunteer work was a joy of hers, especially serving as a “Pink Lady” at Southampton Memorial Hospital.

The union with Holland produced three wonderful children, Madeline Brown Fodrie and her husband, Cecil, of Virginia Beach, Va.; Chester Holland Brown Jr. and his wife, Christy, of Raleigh, N.C., and their children Jordan Wood Brown and Mary Helen Brown; and Matthew Ross Brown Sr. and his wife, Dana, of Richmond Hill, Ga., and their children Matthew Ross Brown Jr., Chase Holland Brown and Reagan Elizabeth Brown.

Mrs. Brown is also survived by one brother, Garland W. “Woody” Beale Jr.; two sisters, Ann Jenkins and a twin sister Mattie Glenn Beale; a host of wonderful in-laws, nieces, nephews; and a close friend of the family, Patricia Nicholas.

She will always be grateful for the many friends she had during her lifetime.

The one thing Mary Ross took the most pride in is the part she played in being the mother of three wonderful children and the love she shared with her grandchildren.

Visitation will be at Wright Funeral Home from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday. The service will be 11 a.m. Saturday, February 16, at Wright Funeral Home, Franklin, Va., with Rev. James H. Hyatt Jr. officiating. Burial will follow at Poplar Spring Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society or Franklin Congregational Christian Church Building Fund. www.wrightfuneralhome.org