Patricia Laretta Brown

Patricia Laretta Dorsey was born on May 4, 1941 to the late Fred Lewis and Maggie Parker. She was loved and raised by the late Thomas and Laretta Dorsey. Affectionately called Pat, she was the fourth of five children between Maggie and Fred but she the one and only for Thomas and she was the apple of their eye. Pat was a loving and jovial child. She enjoyed her childhood in Gambrills, MD and would often spend hours after school in her father's convenience store eating the penny candy and all the other treats available to her. She learned to ride horses at an early age and her parents gave her a pony that she named, "Silver." She believed horses were majestic and beautiful; she felt stately when she rode. Laretta, affectionately called Mama, died when Pat was a young girl and although her father remarried, memories of her sweet childhood remained intact. She spoke highly of her Mom and reflected often how she was such a classy lady. Pat attended Bates Junior High School in Annapolis and graduated from Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore in 1958. She loved being a Douglass Duck. Pat was a good student and was a member of several clubs and committees. She enjoyed being a member of the Debate team and traveled to several high schools in the State of Maryland and the Northeast corridor participating in debates. Long before the hit movie, "The Great Debaters," she and a former colleague, Inez Dorsey, were highly regarded and sought after debaters. They were excellence personified. Douglass High School was also the place where she met and later married the love of her life. She was a history bluff and fascinated by the law. Her childhood dream was to become a lawyer. After high school graduation, she attended Morgan State College. She remembers vividly the struggle of having to pay the first semester's tuition. During her tenure at Morgan. Pat had various employment opportunities, including working in the Business Department for Chesapeake & Potomac Phone Company (C&P). She worked for C&P for over five years and while she enjoyed the opportunity, she knew was called to more. She spent her life's work in service to others and for others. She began a career in Human Services at the Department of Social Services and worked in varying capacities and prior to retirement served as a supervising manager. The last fifteen years of her service were spent in a supervisory capacity and after thirty-five years of dynamic and dedicated service, she retired leaving a legacy of commitment in her community. She was an entrepreneur and owned a women's clothing boutique, Pat's Place, with locations in Govans and Mt. Clare Junction. After years of operation, she closed her boutiques and focused on other interests, Pat had an eye for fashion and loved a good sale. Pat met and married the love of her life, the Honorable Roger W. Brown, Sr. on June 24, 1962. Through this union, they were blessed with two children, Andrea (Kookie), and Roger Jr. (Junior). Pat wanted to have twelve children and buy a farm in Carroll County for her children to learn, love and grow. She believed that GOD answered her prayer and gave her ten additional children in the form of nieces and nephews to love. She believed she had been given a great privilege to love her nieces and nephews and had said that she would do it over and over again. In the early days of their marriage, Pat was a member of the Lawyers Wives of Baltimore, Baltimore County and many other committees. She enjoyed hosting parties and events for her husband and his colleagues. She was an excellent hostess and immensely enjoyed hosting engagements of all types. Pat also enjoyed traveling and spending time on the family boats adoringly named the "Patsy I" and the "Patsy II" by her devoted husband. He called her "Queenie" a name that her friends and his colleagues knew her by as well. She and Roger Sr. loved cruising pre and post retirement. She traveled with friends across the country and out of country. She was a Chesapeake girl at heart and enjoyed boating and all things seafood. Pat loved the outdoors and she was picky about the landscape and her rose bushes. She was protective about her outdoor space and spent as much time outside as possible. She gave her life to the LORD at a young age and rededicated her life to the LORD in the early 1990's and she never looked back. Her faith grew immensely over the last several years and she loved participating in a weekly Thursday night prayer group. Pat attended St. Ann's Catholic Church for over forty years where she supported church activities and members. Some of her closest friends were members of the church and they played together and prayed together, forming lifelong friendships. Pat loved her family, both immediate and extended. She was close to several of her nieces and nephews and considered them daughters and sons. She especially loved celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas, Memorial Day and Birthdays. Her ultimate joy was her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She believed they were sent by GOD to continue the work and make an impact in the world. She used every accomplishment and milestone in their lives as bragging rights. She relished in blessing them with wisdom and and gifts. She was never too busy to support them in any way she could and she loved when they would call and visit. Pat was ecstatic when the family purchased the lake house in Woodford, VA. She gladly spent time and resources helping to decorate, remodel and entertain. It was her new love, her sanctuary, her place of peace. She would sit on the deck, enjoy her morning coffee, talk to GOD and rationalize why she needed to go to Home Goods for one more thing. The weekend before her passing, she spent at the lake house, marveling at the progress made over the last two years, dreaming of what was to come and planning for the next family event. Pat went home to be with the LORD on September 5, 2024, surrounded by her family. She was predeceased by her loving and devoted husband, the Honorable Roger W. Brown, Sr.; parents, Maggie Parker, William Lewis, Laretta Dorsey, Thomas Dorsey; sister, Glendora Colbert; brothers, Richard Tongue, Norman Clifton Lewis, Norman Parker. Patricia Laretta Brown leaves her legacy to be shared by her daughter, Andrea (Gee); her son, Roger (Courtney); grandchildren, Tatiana, Blake, Parker, Logan and Cullen; great-grandchildren, Orlando Carrero, Jr., Mason Carrero, Cyn Carrero; sister-in-law, Cassandra Chavis; devoted friends, Freida Harris, Arlene and Pernell Liggins; and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

Tributes

Patricia Laretta Brown

May 4, 1941 - September 5, 2024