Hallie Mae Albert Brown, 92, of Blacksburg, was freed from dementia on Tuesday, April 20, 2021.
Hallie was born in Parrott, Va., to the late R. Hart Albert, Sr., and N. Kate Cassell Albert. She believed in education, and even though she married young at 17 to her husband of 67 years, C. Ross Brown Jr., she completed her high school education.
After her children were in school, Hallie went to Vo Tech (now NRCC) in secretarial science. Not finished with her education, she obtained her Associate Degree in 1977 from Virginia Western Community College.
Hallie worked in many places, mostly in retail. She was a people person and enjoyed working with the public. One of her last endeavors was as the New River Area’s Senior Staffer for the Virginia Synod of the Lutheran Church. She worked with congregations of the area to develop awareness of the needs of older persons, both within the congregation and throughout the community it serves. She was a leader in starting the Happy Go Lucky Group at St. Michael Lutheran Church where she was a charter member.
Hallie supported her children throughout their education by being a room mother and helping with field trips to the farm. Her children’s friends were always welcomed into the home, even with no notice. If it was mealtime, she would say, “I’ll put another bean in the pot.”
Besides her husband and her parents, Hallie was preceded in death by her sisters and brother-in-law, Virginia and Garfield Hamblin, sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law Wallace Brown, Martha and Roy Gladwin, and Margaret and Dennis Brown.
Also left to cherish her memory are her children and spouses, William C. (Billy) Brown and Mary Lou Saville, Frances B. (Fran) and Frederick M. (Dickie) Shepherd and Lou Ann and William C. (Bill) Phipps. She loved and enjoyed her three grandchildren, Shawn A. Brown, April B. Cockram, and Jessica Saville-Brown.
Hallie had eight loving great-grandchildren and one great-great granddaughter. Also surviving are her brother and sister-in-law Rufus H. (R.H.) and Linda Albert, brother-in-law and sisters-in-law W.C and Sandra Brown, Mary Ann Brown and Vivien Brown; several nieces and nephews; cousins; and her roommate and friend, Iris Cruise.
The family would like to thank the staff at Kroontje Health Care Center and Good Samaritan Hospice for their care of Hallie.
Graveside funeral services were conducted Friday, April 23, 2021, in the Brown Cemetery, Belspring, Va., with the Rev. Michelle Stramiello officiating.
Memorials may be made to Micah’s Soup for Seniors at St. Michael Lutheran Church or a charity of your choice. Arrangements by McCoy Funeral Home, Blacksburg.
