Obituaries

Louise Shailer Brown was born on February 6, 1917, in Spokane,  Washington to parents, Ernest Edward Sargeant and Louise Isabella (McWhinnie) Sargeant. She attended Spokane’s Lewis and Clark High School and then attended Wellesley College in Boston. Louise graduated from Wellesley in 1936 with a degree in English Composition.
   
Louise married Woodburn Allen “Tex” Brown in 1941 and travelled with him to his various military assignments as a meteorologist in the Army Air Corps. Their longest residences in Washington were Seattle, Spokane, Otis Orchards, Pullman, Edmonds and Anacortes. Louise spent her last twenty two years immensely enjoying her home and neighborhood on Dewey Beach near Anacortes. She died on March 30, 2010 at the age of 93.
   
Louise's love of literature was shared with friends and family, as she had a gift for matching people with books and was an avid reader. Her other interests included cooking, gardening, bridge, needlework, crossword puzzles and knitting. However, she was most well known for the value she placed in friendships and family. Her intense curiosity, her love of intellectual challenges and her commitment to serving her community entertained and inspired many of us.

She was involved in organizations such as A.A.U.W., United Methodist Women, P.E.O. and Reading Is Fundamental (R.I.F.). One of her friends said, “She was a role model for how to live, how to age and how to stay involved in the world.” Her physical presence will be dearly missed by her family and her many wonderful friends.
   
Louise was preceded in death by her parents, her husband “Tex” and her brother, Ernest Sargeant.
   
Her surviving family members include her daughters Barbara Sailors (Bob) of Oak Harbor, Pat Steiner (Jerry) of Chelan, Marcia Williams of Entiat and Nancy Brown of Mount Vernon; her grandchildren Brad Bates (Staci) of University Place, Terri Jackson (Tim) of Oak Harbor, Todd Bates (Desiree) of Spokane, Cary Steiner (Jamie) of Yakima, Jennifer Williams of Moab, Utah  and Shailer Tuell of Mt. Vernon; her brother James Sargeant (Moosejaw, Saskatchewan); her sisters-in-law Pauline Sargeant of Moosejaw and Helene Sargeant of Wellesley Hills, Masschusetts; her great-grandchildren Blake, Brady, and Bailey Steiner, Madison and Morgan Bates, Brittany and Kayla Bates,  Taylor, Tiana and Riley Jackson; and nieces/nephews and their families Jim Sargeant (Barbara) of Calgary , Diana Sargeant of Calgary, Terry Sargeant (Debby) of Taber, Jana Foushee (Jeff) of Bellevue, Jill Ready (Don) of Regina