Gay Smart Browne

Gay Vernie Smart Browne passed away peacefully at the Joan and Howard Woltz Hospice Home at the age of ninety-two on December 6, 2024. She was born September 3, 1932, to Mamie Loranzory Williams Smart and Clarender Thomas Smart. She was the sixth of their thirteen children. Gay grew up in Patrick County, Virginia, near Stuart, on the family’s self-sustaining farm. To get to school, she had to walk three miles in the early morning to reach a paved road where she could catch the bus. She often told the story of two young bear cubs watching from a high bank as she walked and wondering if the mother bear would come after her. One day she was a little late and missed the bus. She walked to high school that day and made it there a little after lunch. She never missed the bus again and, in fact, never missed a day of school. After graduating from JEB Stuart High School, where she was known according to her yearbook as “studious” and “happy, loving, carefree, gay,” she attended Martin Memorial School of Nursing. During her time as a student nurse while working at the Martin Memorial Hospital, the hospital caught fire. Fellow nurses voted Gay the “heroine of heroines.” Gay voluntarily took control of the building’s only elevator to move the helpless patients from the top floor to the ground floor to safety. Even after the fire was known to be out of control, she stood her post. Then she and another nurse went back into the building to gather some patient belongings. When a large explosion occurred, she was prepared to jump until thankfully the other nurse found a fire escape. While a nursing student, Gay met Frank Browne, and he became the love of her life. Frank, who often referred to her as “The Pride of Patrick County,” ‘Queen Bee,” and “My Little Chickadee,” married on February 13, 1954. Together they built a life and a legacy spanning 70 years, blessed with twelve children, twenty-four grandchildren, and, to date, fourteen great-grandchildren. She was “tough as nails,” some would say. She could just keep going and going; even with twelve children, she managed to continue working full-time by working nights as an RN at the hospital and then, for years, doing private duty nursing. She was an excellent cook, seamstress, knitter, and crocheter. She could have run a cafeteria with all the mouths to feed at the Browne house. She was always the last one to eat, and sometimes there was only a little left. She also taught the children how to cook, can, and sew, which they carried into their own lives. When Gay wanted some new furniture, she decided to build it herself. After taking classes at Surry Community College, she purchased all the tools required to take raw wood to final furniture. This became a lifelong hobby. She built numerous pieces of Queen Anne-style furniture for herself, her children, and her grandchildren. She truly set an example for children. Her children cared for her at her home during the last few years of her life with assistance from caregivers from the Joan and Howard Woltz Hospice Home in her final days. The family would like to give special thanks to special caregivers Christine McCraw and granddaughters Cassie Hoge Holland and Maya Hicks for their exceptional tender care. Gay converted to the Catholic faith after meeting Frank and was a member of the Holy Angels Roman Catholic Church in Mount Airy, NC. Gay is survived by her twelve children. Michael Francis Browne (Ruth) of Ocean Drive, SC, Monica Alice Browne (Gus) of Charlotte, NC, Catherine Jeanne Thompson (Tim) of Mountain Park, NC, Maureen Alice York (Bill) of Mt. Airy, NC, Shawn David Browne (Kelly) of Graham, NC, Gloria Lynn Cook (David) of Lenoir, NC, Therese Gay Haselden (Bill) of Elkin, NC, Francis Christopher Browne, Jr. of Erie, CO, Patrick Loren Browne (Daphne) of Roanoke Rapids, NC, Sarah Elizabeth Hoge (Bill) of Dobson, NC, Susan Smart Atkins (David) of Winston-Salem, NC, Anne Marie Hicks (Michael) of Mt. Airy, NC; Three sisters Emma Joy Hicks, Gloria Lucinda Martin and Carol Donnis Sutphin and one brother Arlis Kirby Smart; twenty-four grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Francis (Frank) Christopher Browne; granddaughter, Kaitlyn Browne; parents, Mamie Lorenzory Williams Smart and Clarender Thomas Smart; one sister, Audrey Virginia Vernon; and seven brothers, Nathaniel Thomas Smart, Darst Hilmer Smart, Kernie McCoy Smart, Elzie Morton Smart, Soanie Daryl Smart, Clarence Dillard Smart, and Robin Earl Smart. The family will receive friends on Saturday, December 14, 2024, at 10:00 AM at The Duncan Center of Holy Angels Catholic Church in Mount Airy, NC. A funeral mass, conducted by Reverend Peter K. Nouck, will be held following the visitation at 12:00 PM. Interment will follow at Oakdale Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to the Building Fund of Holy Angels Catholic Church, 1208 North Main Street, Mount Airy, NC 27030, to Mountain Valley Hospice and Palliative Care, PO Box 325, Dobson, NC 27017, or to their charity of choice. Moody Funeral Service of Mount Airy is serving the Browne family.