Nina Lee Doele Brown, 96, passed away on Jan. 26, 2023 after a brief illness. She was born on Aug. 12, 1926 in Paterson, N.J., oldest of five children of Herbert and Nina Lee Doele. She grew up in Ridgewood, N.J.
After graduating from Ridgewood High School, Nina moved to New York City and got her degree from the Katherine Gibbs School. She worked as an executive secretary for Stone and Webster where she met Lyford A. Brown, her husband of 42 years. They raised three children, first living in Presque Isle, before settling in Ridgewood, N.J. Nina stayed home to raise her family. When her children were leaving for college, she joined Lea & Perrin’s in 1969 as an executive secretary and retired in 1990.
Nina was fiercely independent. Never deterred by convention, she took flying lessons, intending to invent her own career as a “flying secretary.” She often described her early adult years, living on her own at the Barbizon Hotel, as some of the most fun she ever had. She loved children, whether volunteering as a Girl Scout leader, attending her grandchildren’s sporting events, or bouncing her great-grandchildren on her knees.
When she married Lyford, who was born and raised in Jefferson, she fell in love with Maine. She started a 70-year tradition of family gatherings at the “Farm,” and attended her last one in August 2022 where four generations of Browns, ages 6 to 96, came to celebrate her birthday. She always brought her famous clam dip and would go out of her way to hunt down a good lobster roll. She moved to The Highlands, in Topsham, in 2004, where she often organized and played in three bridge games a week, making cookies for all the players. She always kept everyone laughing with her stories and ever-present smile.
Nina was predeceased by her husband, Lyford; and her brothers, Herbert, James, and Donald Doele. She is survived by her sister, Anne Doele Curran, of Hyannis, Mass.; three children, Stanford Brown, of Portland, Susanne Brown, of E. Falmouth, Mass., and Steven Brown, of Jefferson; four grandchildren, Julie Shepherd, Alexandra Brown, Patrick Brown, and Justin Brown; and five great-grandchildren, Luisa and Zoe Shepherd, Levi and Meira Lerner, and Cameron Brown.
Nina’s family would like to thank the staff at the Highlands for their care and support over the 19 years Nina lived there. There will be a community service at The Highlands at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Nina’s name can be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, bit.ly/3WM9pvu.
To share fond memories and offer condolences, go to brackettfh.com to view Nina’s online memorial.
