Mildred Brown, born on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1920, died on August 15 at her home in Oak Bluffs.
Her parents, Albert Ausmus and Emma Waters Ausmus, lived in Brown County, Illinois, where Mildred was born. As did her mother, Mildred lived a long life. Her mother, Emma, was able to celebrate her 95th birthday. Mildred celebrated her 96th earlier this year. She and her (now deceased) sister, Verna, and a brother, Homer, were the only three of eight children to survive. Homer died at the age of 2.
Mildred attended Western Illinois University. Upon graduating from a two-year program with a teacher’s certificate, she taught in a one-room schoolhouse near her parents’ home for a year before she accepted a teaching position in Dixon, Illinois, seemingly a million miles from Brown County.
While volunteering to serve at a dinner at the Methodist Church in Dixon, she met a young local man, Russell Brown, who was also serving that evening. Mildred and Russell married on June 8, 1947. They moved to Polo, Ill., in 1948, where they owned and operated the Polo Furniture Store and Brown-Seidel Funeral Home with partners, Don and Irma Seidel. In the 1970s, Mildred rode a bus to Chicago on Saturdays to attend Pestalozzi-Froebel Teachers College, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education. Mildred taught fourth grade in Polo for 18 years, until her retirement in 1977. She taught for a total of 24 years.
Mildred and Russell were long-time active members in the Polo United Methodist Church. After Russell died on Nov. 3, 1993, Mildred remained in Polo until 2009, then she moved to Martha’s Vineyard to live near her daughter, Rita and her partner, Jan Casey. Mildred attended the Unitarian Universalist Society of Vineyard Haven, and she went faithfully to the Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living four days a week for the last six and a half years. The family thanks Leslie Clapp, executive director; Eileen Murphy, program supervisor; Susan Habekost, program activities coordinator, and the staff for making Mildred part of their family. “Age is a reality but old is a state of mind.” (C.S. Lewis)
Thanks and blessings go to extended family members: Donna McElroy, who lived with Mildred the last year and a half and became a great friend and caregiver; the late Bev Shuman, Ron Shuman and family, who did so much with and for Mildred, particularly during her years living alone in Polo after Russell died; Nancy Barlosky, a devoted friend and caregiver during her years on Martha’s Vineyard; Alex and John Habekost, Mildred’s honorary grandchildren on Martha’s Vineyard; The Lift drivers who drove her to the MV Center for Living each day; and to the staff at the Plane View restaurant at Martha’s Vineyard Airport, a favorite lunch spot.
Mildred is survived by family members Rita Brown and Jan Casey; Bob and Linda Brown of Macon, Ga.; grandchildren Ryan and Courtney Eiland, of Destin, Fla.; Russ and Katherine Eiland of Huntsville, Ala.; great-grandchildren Connor, Emma, John, and Max, and by a host of grand-dogs and cats.
Mildred will be buried next to Russell at Oakwood Cemetery in Dixon, Ill. If you wish to make a donation in her memory, Mildred would be most honored with a gift to the Unitarian Universalist Society of Martha’s Vineyard, P.O. Box 1236, Vineyard Haven, MA 02539 or to the Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living mvcenter4living.org.
There will be memorial celebration at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Martha’s Vineyard later this fall. Reverend Fernando Siaba, former pastor at Polo UMC, will lead a memorial graveside service at Oakwood Cemetery in Dixon, Ill. Polo Family Funeral Home (formerly Brown-Seidel Funeral Home) is in charge of the arrangements in Illinois.
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